10/07/2007

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.

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About the Author:
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Read more articles by: Stanley Spencer
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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

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

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.