vaquero.co.uk and vaquero guns? What should i do

[emgage]

Hello everyone,

one i registered this domain i bought it because it was a one word domain with over 2 million google results. Vaquero is a legit word in the dictionary which means something to do with western cowboy style. Someone brought it to my attention that there is a gun with the name vaquero.


Should i keep the domain name?

 

[flamewalker]

Did you check USPTO.gov or search on google? Is it a generic/descriptive word? What is your intended use?

 

[emgage]

i searched on google. inted use was just resale due to the fact that it was a dictionary domain name with quite a few lower level domain names taken already.

 

[flamewalker]

And did uspto.gov come up with anything? If its a dictionary/descriptive word, you might be ok, but there is always the possibility of someone coming after you whether they have a leg to stand on or not. Especially risky if there is a registered trademark. Since it is a co.uk, might see if there are any uk based tm registries you can search as well.

Its like Apple can't tm the term Apple to sell apples... but can tm the term for music and computer devices...if the gun is called by its descriptive name, imho, it would be a tough call for them to claim a tm on it unless they can prove to the tm office that they have acquired distinctiveness (pretty rare and hard to do imho - but I may be wrong... tm's aren't always logical).

Just my opinion

 

[emgage]

uspto shows that there is a us tm for vaquero guns by the co. rustlers i think. but, as you mentioned, it is a descriptive definition word so im just not going to put any indication towards their company on the website and i should be ok.... i hope :p

 

[flamewalker]

Well if there is a tm, make sure you don't ever put any ads that relate to their product, don't ever approach them to sell to them. When there are tm's in place, there is no guarantee no matter how careful you are, that they won't come after you anyways...

And... you can still be held responsible via lawsuit even if you sell it, so... imho, its a tough call... damned if you do, damned if you don't.

 

[emgage]

yea, you're definitely right on that one. ill leave it parked on sedo and see what happens. Even the ads put up by sedo have nothing to do with vaquero guns and such. If i experience any problems with the domain name ill let it drop.

Thanks for your advice