branding Trademark applications: Fetch.com, Jerky.com and many more

Acroplex · Jul 8, 2020

The Booking.com trademark case at the US Supreme Court opened the floodgates for trademark applications of generic domains.

Previously seen as generic terms, the SCOTUS decision now allows domains that are formed by otherwise generic (dictionary) words to be eligible for trademark registration - PROVIDED that they have also acquired distinctiveness among their class. How is the latter decided? By providing proof via some type of consumer polling. Yes, it's as clear as mud.

So now there are trademark applications for Fetch.com, Jerky.com, and even Porn.com among others.

dtagr · Jul 8, 2020

Dangerous territory we are in. What if I want to buy "something".com, but don't want to pay the price? Am I now able to trademark "something".com and receive the domain through the back door?

Clear as mud is correct.

Acroplex · Jul 8, 2020

dtagr said:
Dangerous territory we are in. What if I want to buy "something".com, but don't want to pay the price? Am I now able to trademark "something".com and receive the domain through the back door?

Clear as mud is correct.

Good question. My unqualified reply is, no, unless the marketing and branding campaign to engage the consumers is so effective, that the brand/domain becomes distinctive - almost impossible without the matching domain. You'd have to see billboards, commercials etc. all bearing the whatever.com domain which someone else owns.

QuestFuture · Jul 9, 2020

Thanks for sharing.

Steven McEvoy · Jul 9, 2020

Yup, like I stated before this is very bad for the domain industry... Don't listen to Rick Schwartz BS about it.. He can afford to TM every single domain he has. This basically means if you want to start investing in domains you must have a TM for them or any company can just trademark it and take it from.

sircc · Jul 9, 2020

dtagr said:
Dangerous territory we are in. What if I want to buy "something".com, but don't want to pay the price? Am I now able to trademark "something".com and receive the domain through the back door?

Clear as mud is correct.

I believe you would need to own something.com before you could apply for the trademark.

Kingslayer · Jul 9, 2020

sircc said:
I believe you would need to own something.com before you could apply for the trademark.

Yeah that’s the way I see it.

I can understand the booking.com trademark win, their brand is ‘booking.com’ not ‘booking’ – If you said “I booked a holiday on booking” people would go “where?” But if you said booking.com, people all around the world know that instantly.

To become booking.com they had to own the .com first and foremost and make that brand their own (which they have).

Mytz.com · Jul 9, 2020

Finally, the domain name was successfully acquired through trademark. Right?

Acroplex · Jul 10, 2020

Mytz.com said:
Finally, the domain name was successfully acquired through trademark. Right?

Once again I have to ask, did you read and comprehend the article?

CraigD · Jul 20, 2020

It makes perfect sense to trademark your high value domains if it can save you headaches down the track.

branding Trademark applications: Fetch.com, Jerky.com and many more

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