LLL Trademarks Please Help

[Luvdomainz]

I always check to see if a word or words are trademarked before buying domain names, but the 3 letters are really something else! There are soooo many 3 letters that are trademarked WITH symbols, characters, names and words. Does that mean you can't use the 3 letters by itself in a domain name? Example : "ABC All Business Contacts" is what's trademarked, does this mean I can't register ABC by itself,as a acronym? (this is only an example of what I'm referring to) Thanks for your help. I'm pretty new here and everyone is very knowledgeable, so I very much appreciate it! This seems to be a very detailed subject! Thanks again! :tu:

 

[weblord]

i think 3 l are subject to registrant's imagination of what it means not unless it's a tm. you should look it up.

 

[Luvdomainz]

I agree. Here's an example of what my question is about. Check out "OEA" on the trademark site click and you will see OEA with a symbol and words to go with it. My question is: Can I register "OEA" by itself??? Thank you again for your help.

 

[weblord]

whatever makes confusion or deception to the audience or customer/consumers needs to be avoided. the motive of registering has to play a lot. im not a legal person, someone from here could better explain it.

 

[Dave_Z]

For instance, you can use PWC for Pretty Women College and not for anything
on accounting (PriceWaterhouse Coopers), WB for Weak Bastards but not for
entertainment services (Warner Brothers) or shoes (World Balance), or AMD as
All Mighty Domainers and not for computers. Some mark holders like AOL can be
very aggressive, so avoid them unless you're prepared to deal with it.

 

[npcomplete]

Welcome to the wonderful world of domain name law! I have been getting threats since 1996. Some things never change. Regardless of what you register, or when you registered it, or what your original intent was, expect challenges.

This is a great place to learn. Just read posts, particularly in the legal forum here, until you feel like your eyes are ready to fall out of your head... A few weeks/months of reading can save you a lot of grief. There are some great legal mailing lists worth checking out too. Be sure to read WIPO decisions to get a feel for the kinds of legal attacks and defenses.

The acronym market is particularly susceptible to this since everybody seems to think that it is their God given right to own a short acronym for their company... and that their Mark is World Famous, including the acronym.

argghhhh

 

[DeenaEsq]

Dave and npcomplete are both correct. You can register a three letter domain provided that you're not using it for a competing service or that you could be confused with being associated with the mark holder. It's all really in the likelihood of confusion. The best thing to do is to check out the UDRP section 4(c) to make sure that you've got valid defenses if you're challenged.

And, for goodness sake, don't offer to sell it to the trademark holder....

Deena
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