Domain Registration Without Copyright Violation

Domain Registration Without Copyright Violation
By: Stanley Spencer

[Word Count: 704 words] [Viewed: 147 time(s)]


The selection of a domain name registration is one of the most important features in the development of a web site. Domain names are representative of the address for a web site, and disputes over domain names are becoming more common with increased penetration of Internet.

Various factors have led to a crisis of domain names and this, in turn, has led to a rapid increase in the reported cases of infringement of domain registration. A number of companies have taken legal action against other companies or individuals over alleged copyright violation of the domain names.

There are some basics that you should understand before choosing a trademark or domain registration:
1. Use of two similar trademarks should not confuse customers about the products or services
2. If there is a legal conflict over use of similar trademarks, the first user is likely to win the case
3. The later user would to give up his claim if he cannot prove his point and may have to pay the first owner damages.

You should apply these principles to your domain name registration process.

There are some basic guidelines for choosing a domain name:
1. You must be able to justify your reason for using the name. Your domain name should principally consist of a name you are using as a trade name, trademark or corporate name.
2. It is better to select more than one name since you are not sure about the availability of the required domain name.
3. If the domain name that you are looking has already been registered but there is no content being displayed at the domain, try to find out the details of the owner of the domain. It is possible that he/she may be genuine and have yet not published any content.
4. It is also possible that the owner does not plan to create a web site but is willing to give you the domain at the original price. You must confirm that the seller has ownership rights for that particular domain name.

Choosing a domain name registration that is same as or quite similar to another well-known trademark, may lead to legal action. The regulations governing these issues are dealt by Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

It is very likely that you would lose right of your domain registration if you have intentionally chosen a name similar to another domain name so as to confuse potential visitors to the site. For example, if your site deals in consumer electronics goods made by a Samsung competitor, do not choose the name "samsungbusiness.com" since a court is most likely to pass a verdict that you selected this name to divert attention of Samsung customers.

There could be others reasons of losing a domain name registration:
1. You have never carried out any business under that name
2. There is no person in your company similar to that name
3. You are planning to sell that domain name to your competitor for financial gain

If your domain name is same as your name then you may be allowed to continue to use it, inspite of the fact that it is similar to someone else’s domain name. But the usage of such a name is governed by certain condition set by court. For example, Mr. Suki Nokia, who runs a cosmetics business, may be allowed to use the domain name "nokia.kr" but he would barred from using his site to demonstrate any electronics-related information or advertising.

In the traditional world, two companies may have the same name if they do not conduct a similar business. For example, Roxy Electrical and Roxy Laundry can coexist comfortably. However, in the web world, both Roxies cannot own the "roxy.com" domain name. The laundry Roxy could register under "roxy.laundry" and the electrician under "roxy.electrical."

A very useful tip is to buy all three of the top level domains - .com, .net and .org. You should buy all possible misspellings of your domain name before anybody else takes advantage of this fact.
The most appropriate way to choose a domain name is to satisfy your own marketing requirements but at the same time do not conflict it with anyone else's domain name.

Copyright © Active-Domain.com

About the Author:
http://www.active-domain.com All rights reserved.
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How To Really Profit From Domain Names

How To Really Profit From Domain Names
By: Stephen Pope

[Word Count: 550 words] [Viewed: 226 time(s)]


Have you heard about domain names that sold for over a million dollars? Inspired by this, you imagine registering a great domain name, hanging onto it for a while, and then selling it off to become the next multi-millionaire. It could happen, but don`t count on it!

First of all, many of the truly great domain names are already taken. Second, the dot com bust took some of the wind out of inflated domain name prices. (If you sell your domain name for millions of dollars worth of stock in a publicly traded dot com flop, what is the name really worth?)

The cybersquatter buys domain names totally on speculation. Sometimes he will register names of famous brands, companies, or individuals. Time and again, these domain name speculators learn the hard way that they must respect intellectual property rights. They hope that some large corporation will pay big bucks to them for the use of the company`s own (already trademarked) name. Instead, they end up with threatening letters from a law firm for their attempts at extortion.

However, you can still make money from domain names if you are sensible in your approach. Here are some suggestions on ways to profit.
1. Affiliate Programs: Use your domain name to promote an appropriate affiliate program. Either redirect to the affiliate site or write a review that links to them.
2. Informational Sites: Create content and then profit from it by earning advertising revenue through Google AdSense or a similar program.
3. Redirect to Your Own Site: Some reasons you might want to do this include preventing competitors from using a particular domain name and benefiting from searches some users perform by domain name. (For example, if they wanted to order flowers, they might just type "flowers.com" in their web browser. You could get some traffic and sales this way.)
4. Product Sites: Create your own or sell someone else`s product appropriate to your domain name.
5. Park Your Domain Names: You might feel that your name has real potential for resale value. There are companies that will allow you to park your domain on their servers, advertise that your name is for sale, and split advertising revenue with you.

The trick is to generate traffic for your domain name. That traffic in turn will create revenue. Then, when you go to sell your domain name, you will have a few things going for you.

First, you will have a fully developed website. A fully constructed building on a piece of land increases the value of the real estate property. Similarly, the value of your domain name is enhanced by a complete and operating website.

Second, you have traffic. Just as a shopping mall with no traffic results in no sales, so a website must have traffic to generate income.

Third, you have income. An income property, such as an apartment building, can be appraised on the basis of its income (as well as other factors). Similarly, the gross income, net profits and cashflow of a website have value. For example, if someone offered you $1,000 for your domain name and website when it was generating $10,000 per day in profits, you would likely laugh at him.

You really can profit from your domain name investments by adding value and properly developing your web properties.

About the Author:
Stephen Pope, President of Pope Consulting Inc., has been helping clients to earn maximum business profits for over twenty-five years. For further information about domain name profits and other Work at Home Small Business Ideas, visit

http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/domain-names.html
Read more articles by: Stephen Pope
Article Source: www.iSnare.com

How to get the best de-domains

How to get the best de-domains

by Hans-Peter Oswald

Who is visiting www.domainregistry.de/de-domain.html will be surprised: One can see live the deletion of de-domains.

Visitors, who come to the website www.domainregistry.de/de-domain.html of ICANN accredited Registrar Secura, will have a big surprise: They can watch live the deletions of de-domains. The CEO of Secura, Hans-Peter Oswald, explains:" It's almost like domain television.You see live, how de-domains are going to become free for registration . You see at once in real time all de-domains, which have been deleted by the German Registry, the DENIC."
Then comes the next surprise. If you click at the deleted de-domain, you can order it at once.

The next surprise is: There is a second list with deleted de-domains, which have a Pagerank equal or greater as "1! The pagerank shows how easy it is in the web to meet a website. The algorithm of the pagerank was created by Google Founder Larry Page, therefore the name "Pagerank".

Interested private persons, companies and "domainers"can catch deleted domains by ICANN Registrar Secura at many Top Level Domains.

-com-domains
-net-domains
-org-domains
-eu-domains
- at-domains
- ch-domains
- li-domains
- de-domains
- info-domains
- biz-domains
- us-domains
- be-domains
- cc-domains
- ws-domains
-ca-domains

Secura cooperates with a lot of other registrars in this field, in order to get a high success.

Secura offers this service for catching deleted domains at success basis. The submission of the application is free. The winner of a domain pays 120 EURO per successful domain registration. This includes the monitoring, catching and the registration during two years.

Everybody can backorder these top level domains at

www.domainregistry.de/domain-monitoring.html.

Marc Mueller https://www.domainregistry.de/de-domain.html

https://www.domainregistry.de/domain-monitoring.html

About the Author
Author is CEO of ICANN accredited Registrar Secura

Claiming An Infringement On Your Domain Name

by Richard A. Chapo

A domain name is your address on the web, which can make it vitally important. So, what do you do when someone tries to move onto your yard?

If you work on the web at all, you know that domain names can be very similar. This raises the question of when one domain crosses the line and infringes on another. The issue is often brought up with larger commercial sites when others register similar domains.

A claim for domain name infringement is governed by the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy issued by ICANN. As a domain owner, you might be surprised to learn you have consented to this. It occurred when you purchased your domain, although you probably didn't read the terms and conditions associated with your purchase.

To prove your domain is being infringed upon, you have to prove certain things. They are as follows:

1. You must prove the domain name in dispute is identical or confusingly similar to a trade or service mark you have registered. In simple terms, this means you must show the other guy is using a domain that most people would associated with your business. If I have a trademark for ZipIt and someone is using a NET suffix of this, it is confusing for the public.

2. You must also prove the owner of the other domain has no rights or legitimate interests in the domain.

3. Finally, you must prove domain name is registered by the other party and being used in bad faith. Indications of bad faith include the other party tried to sell it to you or one of your competitors for more than they paid for it, the other party has done this repeatedly to other companies, the other party registered the domain in an attempt to intentionally steal your clients.

If you decide to pursue an infringement action, it is always handled as a binding arbitration. This essentially means the dispute is heard by a panel of arbitrators and their decision is binding upon you and the other party. The advantage of this is it tends to be less expensive than going to court, but your damages are limited to an act instead of money. Specifically, the panel can only issue instructions for the offending domain to be canceled, modified or left alone. The panel cannot award any monetary damages.

At the end of the day, using the infringement arbitration provisions of the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy provided by ICANN is a good choice if you just want to terminate a domain you feel is infringing upon yours. The key to the dispute, however, is the fact you need to have a trademark or service mark first in most cases.

About the Author
Protect yourself with a domain name purchase agreement

from SanDiegoBusinessLawFirm.com.

Domain Name Renewal Woes

Domain Name Renewal Woes

by Candice Pardue

Domain name renewal might sound simple, but with so many scams going on, it's definitely a subject worth mentioning. If you fail to renew your domain name properly or within a certain amount of time, you could lose it to someone else and never get it back - no matter how hard you've worked on your website. Here are some helpful tips to ensure that your domain name stays right where it needs to be - in your domain name account!

Early Domain Name Renewal Recommended

It is recommended that you renew your domain name as early as possible - before its expiration date. The registrar (or domain name registration company) should send you a reminder of when it is due for renewal. But emails can get lost or stuck in spam folders easily. So it's wise to do your own scheduling for domain name renewal.

If you own multiple domain names, keep a list of all your domain names, their individual expiration dates (if each was registered at a different time), and your personal account information for your domain name registrar. You will likely need to log-in securely to an account to renew your domain name and pay the renewal registration fee.

Secure Your Domain Name for Longer Periods
If you own a domain name that you plan on keeping for many years to come, you can save money now and time in the future by signing on for a longer duration of domain name registration. For example, some domain name registrars are offering up to 10-year registration at a tremendous discount per year. You will pay a little more up front, but save dollars in the long run. Also, this frees you from the yearly domain name renewal for 10 years!

Use Renewal Time to Re-evaluate
When your domain name renewal time comes around, use that time to re-evaluate your website situation. Perhaps you've changed to a new hosting company since registering your domain name. You might consider moving your domain name to that company to make things easier in the future. During the renewal period, this is a good time to make the switch without wasting part of your yearly fee.

You might also use this time to register another domain name or two that will complement your business. You can package your registrations together to save money on each domain name.

Automate to Avoid Domain Name Mishaps
Many domain name registrars allow you to automate your domain name renewals so you won't have to be reminded each time. This is an automatic credit card charge billed to you during renewal time. Be on alert still with this system. No system is flawless, so you should still be mindful of when your renewal time is to ensure that your domain name gets renewed on time.

Start with the Initial Registration
If you're brand new to this whole domain name registration process, keep the following tips in mind. Register your domain name at a trustworthy company. Cheaper is not always better. Keep your domain name account information in a safe place on your hard drive as well as in your office, written or printed as a hard copy in case you lose your computer information.

When renewal time comes, you will need your account login and password to access your domain name information for renewal. Registrar companies are usually very strict when it comes to domain name security, so you might have to give an arm and a leg to get your password back if you lose it!

Keep these tips in mind when domain name renewal time comes around to ensure lasting success online!

About the Author
Candice Pardue is a professional web content writer http://www.selectwriters.com/. Go to http://webmastercourse.com/subscribe/ for a free 7-Lesson Web Beginner's Minicourse and learn web design from start to finish.

You Can Easily Lose Your Domain Name

You Can Easily Lose Your Domain Name

A key element in Internet marketing is your domain name. Just think of the time, money and effort you put into creating and marketing your Web site . Also consider everything that has your domain and email address. Imagine if you lost your domain name. What would that cost you, not only in time and money, but lost opportunities?

Every Web site owner should have a check list of maintenance activity for their site on a monthly, quarterly and yearly basis. One of the items on your yearly checklist should include checking your domain name.

Years seem to fly by and you may have registered your domain name for a two or three years so you don’t worry about when it expires. You may also have a false sense of security because you feel that the company you bought the domain name from will inform you. You’re right, the company will inform you, but it is not fool proof.

Keep in mind, depending on which company you used, if their main business is registering domains they probably don’t care if your domain expires. Many of these companies have backorder options. Backorder options gives someone the ability to backorder your domain so the very second your domain expires it is registered with the person that backordered it. It may not seem legal, but it is.

In addition, the company that backordered your name can be kept anonymous – even if they end up with your name. Your name can be sold to someone else that may never use it and you may never be able to find out who has it. Just think about it. An unethical competitor can backorder your domain name and if you are not careful they can own it and sit on it just to keep you from having it. Or they can try to turn around and sell it to you for thousands of dollars and it’s all legal. Not ethical, but legal.

When you registered your domain name you most likely included your contact information, but has that changed? Is the email address still valid and do you check it often? If you’re like me, you probably receive hundreds of emails a day and many go straight into your spam folder and get lost. You should not expect the company that your registered your domain name with to call you. They won’t.

Each year you should check the status of your domain name. Have some sort of system to remind you such as a tickler file or an email alert. When you check on your domain name you may want to check to see if there are other domain extensions available such as .net or .mobi. You may not want to use these names right now, but they are inexpensive, so it’s worth buying them.

Be sure to register your domain name with a reliable company. Also, make it easy on yourself and consider registering it with your hosting company. Our hosting company’s main business is hosting. Registering domain names is a value added service. It may cost a few dollars more to register the domain name with them, but the convenience of having all the information at one location is extremely valuable. We are able to go into our hosting account information and on the dash board see when the domain names expire.

Your domain name is a valuable asset to your company. The age of a domain name also plays into rankings for search engines. Just image if you lost your domain name and everything you will have to do to change it or the cost of trying to get it back. Consider the cost of reprogramming your site, reprinting everything that has your domain name and not to mention any online ads you have running. Losing your domain name will cost you thousands of dollars. It is something you do NOT want to go through.

Patricia Hughes is president of an

Internet marketing firm, ePlus Marketing,

(http:/www.eplusm.com) based in St. Louis.

For more other tips on Internet marketing see her company's website.

How a Beginner can Find a Domain Name and Hosting Service

How a Beginner can Find a Domain Name and Hosting Service

by Candice Pardue

This quick guide to domain name web hosting will help you understand the process of hosting your domain name online. Finding and registering a domain name is one thing, but you still must host your domain name. Web hosting is similar to "renting" space on the Web, either by the month or year. You rent that space according to the size and needs of your website.

There are several ways to do this. One way might save you time, while others save you money. Some methods offer short-term benefits while others offer long-term benefits. Read below before making your choice about domain name web hosting.

Already Registered - Now What?
If your domain name has already been registered with a registrar or domain name reseller, then you have two options. One, do nothing. Leave the domain name's registration right where it is and pay the bill each term. You can find domain name web hosting elsewhere. You'll have two separate bills with two companies - one for domain name registration and one for hosting.

Two, you can find a Web hosting provider and transfer your domain name registration to that company. This will enable you to have everything billed with the same company. Keep in mind that if you registered your domain name before you secured Web hosting, then your bills might come at different times. The domain name renewal will be billed at one-year intervals (or anniversaries) from the date of registration. If you secure it for more than one year, it will renew on that date within the next two or more years.

Finding a Domain Name for Sale
You might find a great domain name for sale online that really suits your business. Beware of possible pitfalls before buying. First, check to be sure what type of company owned that domain name, and that the domain name was not banned for illegal practices online. This is crucial for the future of your business because the domain name might never get listed again with the major search engines if it was banned previously.

If you purchase the domain name, this doesn't always mean that you are "registering" the domain name. This just means you're buying the name itself from the previous owner or a broker. It means you're free to register the domain name. So, check beforehand to see what's included in your purchase. The domain name for sale might be $100 or $10,000, depending on its popularity and demand, but you still might be required to register it after the sale.

Advantages and Disadvantages
There are advantages and disadvantages to registering a domain name with your Web host. An advantage is you'll have all of your information, billing, and passwords with only one company. This helps eliminate confusion when it comes time to renew your domain name. You might even receive a free year of domain name web hosting and registration by signing on.

The disadvantage is that you might pay more for your domain name in the long run. And, some hosting companies just aren't savvy when it comes to domain name registration services even though they offer great Web hosting services.

Take the above information into consideration when registering your domain name. Domain name web hosting and registration can be an easy process if you know what to expect.

About the Author

Article written by Candice Pardue, Corporate brochure writer

http://www.webmastercourse.com/writing-services.

Go to http://webmastercourse.com/subscribe/ for a free 7-Lesson Web Beginner's Minicourse and learn web design from start to finish. This one's for beginners...