Newbie has an important question....thanks!!

[empathy1]

Dear Smart People,

I am humble enough to ask for help when I know jack about a subject which in this case is obviously domains.

I have a simple domain question that I hope requires a have a simple answer. I realize to be 100% confident about any questions/answers would require a consult with an IP Attorney which is something I can not afford at the moment. I am not in any trouble or have been contacted by any attorneys. I just want to make sure I do not waste money buying a domain that cold potentially cause an issue.

Question is this. With all the new TLDs, can someone explain if the following scenario violates any trademark or Intellectual Property laws.

Let's say the new TLD is .shoes. I register www.bob.shoes or www.leather.shoes. Both Bob & leather are common words found in dictionary. Now let's say there is a chain of shoe stores called Bobshoes or leathershoes and they both have websites www.bobshoes.com and www.leathershoes.com. Lets even assume both have live Trademarks. Does that by default give them ownership to www.bob.shoes or www.leather.shoes. There are so many new TLDs, I have to believe this issue has been addressed in a court and a precedent was determined for all future issues related to this specific question. I also get that Dell.shoes would most likely be an issue because the world knows Dell's branded name.

I read you can also be sued for lost revenue by a company if any trademarks are violated which seems fair because companies spend a lot on money branding themselves. Question is can a company sue for lost revenue if domains or parked on GoDaddy or offered for sale on Godaddy as the domains were not forwarded to a competitor in the shoe industry?

I thank everyone who took the time to read this and respond. I truly appreciate your wisdom.

God Bless

 

[Dave_Z]

To answer your question, no. A trademark's purpose is to prevent confusion (and exploitation) in the marketplace rather than grant some magic amulet for any and all domain name variations of the mark.

Granted, such an answer doesn't stop some folks — especially those with deep pockets — from believing otherwise. A shame if they won't learn from someone named Leo Stoller, who learned the hard way.

 

[empathy1]

To answer your question, no. A trademark's purpose is to prevent confusion (and exploitation) in the marketplace rather than grant some magic amulet for any and all domain name variations of the mark.

Granted, such an answer doesn't stop some folks — especially those with deep pockets — from believing otherwise. A shame if they won't learn from someone named Leo Stoller, who learned the hard way.

Thanks for info Dave. I appreciate it. I Googled Leo Stoller and that turned me off big time and realized this is not an industry I want to invest my time or money. Thanks again for taking a minute to help a newbie unlike your buddy "Bacon Boy from Iowa". Cheers. BobbyD