domain Please Appraise NYRealtor.net

[GarretB]

Hey guys, could you please appraise NYRealtor.net. I'm going to start contacting end users and was wondering what you think it is worth. It's taken in many extensions and it is only 2 years old, but was first registered way before. It also has very low exact searches but 33,000 broad monthly searches and is a pretty targeted term. I was thinking at least low XXXX if not more but am unsure. Thanks!

 

[Kate]

Sounds like there should be no shortage of possible end users but realtor = TM. So be careful.

 

[JB Lions]

Hey guys, could you please appraise NYRealtor.net. I'm going to start contacting end users and was wondering what you think it is worth. It's taken in many extensions and it is only 2 years old, but was first registered way before. It also has very low exact searches but 33,000 broad monthly searches and is a pretty targeted term. I was thinking at least low XXXX if not more but am unsure. Thanks!

Probably not that price, NyRealtors com went for $2,800. It looks like they don't sell for much, city/state realtor/realtors. Low xxxx, many in xxx. Plus it's a registered trademark, one of the more aggressively monitored ones.

 

[GarretB]

Hey guys thanks so much for your responses this helps me out. Dissapointed to hear NYRealtors.com only sold for that much though lol. Wait so Realtor is the registered trademark? I don't understand at all how that could be a trademark since it is a dictionary word and a common profession. Is that normal though? I see a lot of different trademarks with Realtor/s in them too but nothing for NY Realtor or anything though.

 

[JB Lions]

Hey guys thanks so much for your responses this helps me out. Dissapointed to hear NYRealtors.com only sold for that much though lol. Wait so Realtor is the registered trademark? I don't understand at all how that could be a trademark since it is a dictionary word and a common profession. Is that normal though? I see a lot of different trademarks with Realtor/s in them too but nothing for NY Realtor or anything though.

Yeah, it's one of those that would seem generic but -

http://www.realtor.org/rmoquiz2.nsf/trademark?openform

http://www.aaronline.com/documents/trademark.aspx

Very tight it how it can be used. I was surprised at what they were selling for myself but just type in realtor at http://dnsaleprice.com/ or namebio and they don't go for very high and I was looking at .coms

 

[GarretB]

Wow this is very interesting, Thank you so much for pointing it out. I find it absolutely ridiculous though that they could claim to own the term realtor in all uses. How is it any different then claiming doctor or banker or bank or anything? This greatly disappoints me in trademark law I wonder if any claim could actually hold up though i always thought dictionary words were off limits. Would anyone really say that realtor isn't a completely generic word? I can't find anything about that on the US Gov Trademark Search Site too it just says realtor.com is a design mark and there are 500+ trademarks with realtor in them such as SnapRealtor and GREATER SPRINGFIELD REALTORS. I wonder if that's a main reason for the sale prices being so low though.

Yeah, it's one of those that would seem generic but -

http://www.realtor.org/rmoquiz2.nsf/trademark?openform

http://www.aaronline.com/documents/trademark.aspx

Very tight it how it can be used. I was surprised at what they were selling for myself but just type in realtor at http://dnsaleprice.com/ or namebio and they don't go for very high and I was looking at .coms

 

[m-i-k-e]

I find it absolutely ridiculous though that they could claim to own the term realtor in all uses. How is it any different then claiming doctor or banker or bank or anything?

'Real Estate Agent' would be a generic term. The world realtor was invented by a group of real estate agents back in the earlier decades of the 1900's to distinguish themselves from other real estate agents. You could only call yourself a realtor if you were part of the 'club'. Even today you can be a real estate agent without being a realtor. To be a realtor you have to apply to the organization and pay your fees etc..

 

[novatheory]

This will answer all your questions:

The most preferred form for the term "REALTOR®" is in all uppercase letters with the federal registration symbol (®) following it. Less preferred, but still acceptable, forms would be "REALTOR" in all uppercase letters without the registration symbol or "Realtor®" with an initial uppercase "R" with the registration symbol. Using all lowercase letters in "realtor," with or without the registration symbol, is not considered proper form for the term REALTOR®.

So if you say NYrealtor.com you are ok, but if you say NYRealtor.com you are my friend in deep waters.

 

[m-i-k-e]

So if you say NYrealtor.com you are ok, but if you say NYRealtor.com you are my friend in deep waters.

You aren't interpreting that correctly. Your quote isn't meant to help people determine whether they are infringing on trademarks or not, it's meant to help realtors use the term realtor correctly in written format.

 

[GarretB]

'Real Estate Agent' would be a generic term. The world realtor was invented by a group of real estate agents back in the earlier decades of the 1900's to distinguish themselves from other real estate agents. You could only call yourself a realtor if you were part of the 'club'. Even today you can be a real estate agent without being a realtor. To be a realtor you have to apply to the organization and pay your fees etc..

Ooo I see thank you for clarifying this. I feel dumb now I didn't realize that at all I guess I always just thought realtor was an actual word for a real estate agent and not a created/trademarked name from the start. That's some really good branding though haha i expect alot of people don't know that, or maybe I'm just too young and haven't had to find a "real estate agent" yet. Real estate agent is just so long to say and everything lol. Sad to hear that though i was hoping it was a good name : D

 

[m-i-k-e]

Ooo I see thank you for clarifying this. I feel dumb now I didn't realize that at all I guess I always just thought realtor was an actual word for a real estate agent and not a created/trademarked name from the start. That's some really good branding though haha i expect alot of people don't know that, or maybe I'm just too young and haven't had to find a "real estate agent" yet. Real estate agent is just so long to say and everything lol. Sad to hear that though i was hoping it was a good name : D

Don't feel dumb. Many people don't realize that. I was surprised to find this out as well when I first started reading about Trademarks.

 

[AZ_Saint]

As a Realtor, i was told never to use "Realtor" in a domain name as it would get me into trouble.

 

[Bannen]

Few years ago I regged a realtor name myself, then found out about the TM. Actually contacted the NAR's legal dept personally. The lawyer I spoke to said they have a large dept dedicated to hunting down domain infringers using 'realtor' in their domain and are constantly busy because so many new ones get regged regularly. The good news is they usually send a c & d letter first, rather than jumping in with a lawsuit. At least, they did back then.

She was actually quite happy I contacted her about it, thanked me for asking what I should do with my domain (recommended I either let it expire at expiry date, or ask registrar to drop it), and said I 'made her day' as a domainer actually contacting them for once and asking about the right thing to do. Ha

IMO ask your registrar to drop the name.

Good luck

 

[.NJ]

Just found this forum from back in 2004. Looks like the same debate has been going on for years.

http://www.laborlawtalk.com/showthread.php?t=110202