Would anything with "Idol" in it be trademarked?

[LauraB]

Now, please don't jump all over me - I'm new to this but not sure I understand where the line is on trademarks.

I own predictidol.com. I've been trying to develop my various domains, and wondered if this particular domain would be troublesome if, for instance, I developed a blog to chat about American Idol and who's going to win, etc. It would be monetized.

In other words, what decides whether you've encroached on a trademark: what you do with the name, or simply whether key words appear in the domain? Like if I had a name with the word idol in it but it had nothing to do with American Idol, would that be different?

Thanks for any guidance you can give.

 

[hawkeye]

Anything with 'American Idol' would be trademarked. 'Idol' in a name wouldn't be. If someone had trademarked 'Idol', and your site was trying to sell their wares, then that would be a problem, but if you weren't, it wouldn't.

 

[doggyowner]

Anything with 'American Idol' would be trademarked. 'Idol' in a name wouldn't be. If someone had trademarked 'Idol', and your site was trying to sell their wares, then that would be a problem, but if you weren't, it wouldn't.

Agree. I cant see any problems with TM and the generic word "idol". At least I hope so, as I sit on StreetIdol dot com.

Cheers

 

[htmlindex]

I think Idol on it's own would be fine. As mentioned above, AmericanIdol or any of the other Idols around the world would be problematic.

 

[MadAboutDomains]

I'm not sure if it is the same for US trademarks. But for the UK, you aren't allowed a trademark for things that are related to the products or essentially the "purpose of the business"

So you couldnt have a sweet shop and trademark "Sweet Shop"

So with Idol I imagine that you wouldn't be able to have just the word "Idol" for the "Creating New Idols" thing.

Im pretty tired so cant be arsed explaining in to much detail. But hopefully you get my drift.

Cheers

- Luke

 

[Carlton]

Agree. Variations on "Idol" should be relatively safe as long as their not used for music talent competition.

 

[MCDomains]

That's fine... 'idol' is generic. If you were to own PredictLoser.com it wouldn't be a problem either (as in "The Biggest Loser" show).

 

[LauraB]

Thanks so much, everyone, for your input. I really appreciate it.

 

[XJ]

When it comes to trademarks, at a minimum check the US Patent and Trademark Office. If there is a trademark holder (and a one minute check found 4 registrations for "idol" alone - have fun checking the details), you need to ensure that you are on safe ground, especially if you intend to invest into building a somewhat commercial site.

I have seen a really good example at granscala.travel which shows what you can do.

You can always ask the rights holder for permission to use the trademark. Once such a permission has been granted, you can print it, file it, and start building your site with confidence. Good luck.

 

[LauraB]

Thank you, XJ. I will do that. I appreciate the Gran Scala example as well.

 

[Dave_Z]

'idol' is generic.

For music shows?

 

[LauraB]

I'm back after more research. The USPTO listings don't seem to be an issue because the "Idol" TMs there have nothing to do with what I'm doing (one is wine, one is yarn, one is beauty products, etc.).

Here's a letter from American Idol to a guy who was trying to use "Geek Idol." My question is whether the problem is the fact that he was going to conduct contests, or simply his use of the word "idol."

I've also read about the Dial Idol controversy, although the issue there was really a copyright issue regarding photos and video clips, not a trademark issue (if I'm understanding the difference correctly).

I read the commentary at foxesonidol.com regularly, and I've never heard of them having any problems.

So I may be answering my own question here, but I thought I'd add these thoughts in case anyone has any further input. It's not like my piddly little Idol commentary site would even make a blip on the radar, but I know I need to check this stuff out regardless.

Bottom line: Given this further info, since I'm not conducting any kind of contest, simply commenting and making my own predictions about what will happen on American Idol, do you think I am okay?

 

[Dave_Z]

Bottom line: Given this further info, since I'm not conducting any kind of contest, simply commenting and making my own predictions about what will happen on American Idol, do you think I am okay?

Bottom line: it boils down to likelihood of confusion, which is one of the things
trademarks aim to prevent. If your site creates that, then expect trouble.