Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

STEELBUILDING.COM is a trademark case that shows some of the perils of this variety of "trademark."  The site owner was not allowed to register the trademark and might have some trouble excluding others from using it because of the difficulty of establishing what we call "secondary meaning."

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James Lindon, Ph.D. Patent Attorney
Lindon & Lindon, LLC
Cleveland, Ohio
Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, Pharmacy Law, Litigation
[this is not legal advice - provided for discussion only]
Intellectual Property for the Individual and Small Business: Identify, Protect, Enforce, Defend.
"Fools rush in where angels fear to tread."
http://www.LindonLaw.com

But couldn`t the owner of steelbuilding.com call his company ... um "Built Right"... the steel building of choice. Find us at steelbuilding.com."

His online name may be different, but could he/she use the power of the internet recognition to fuel ...in part... his customer base?

But I see your point about being careful in making your biz name out of a product name.


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Vincent Wilcox (a.k.a. KRAKR)
Drummer
My band: Letters Make Words

yes.  you can register a hightly descriptive domain, just can`t trademark it and keep others from using that domain name.

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James Lindon, Ph.D. Patent Attorney
Lindon & Lindon, LLC
Cleveland, Ohio
Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, Pharmacy Law, Litigation
[this is not legal advice - provided for discussion only]
Intellectual Property for the Individual and Small Business: Identify, Protect, Enforce, Defend.
"Fools rush in where angels fear to tread."
http://www.LindonLaw.com