+- Twitist Forums (http://twitist.com)
+-- Forum: General Social Media & Marketing Forums (/forum-8.html)
+--- Forum: SEO Search Engine Optimization (/forum-30.html)
+--- Thread: Can I register a domain name which contains a companies name? (/thread-146614.html)
Can I register a domain name which contains a companies name? - Lex - 04-28-2014 03:16 AM
Is it legal to register a domain name which contains a company name I do not own? For example http://www.samsunggeneralproductreview.com
This question is directed at the domain name so disregard any issue involving site content.
- ranger_co_1_75 - 04-28-2014 03:25 AM
If the name is a registered trade mark, only the company can use it. You can not.
- tazz - 04-28-2014 03:29 AM
You can register it, but most likely won't be able to use it
Good luck!
- Jake - 04-28-2014 03:38 AM
You might look up Cyber-Squatting Law which covers such domain names, I understand Ebay automatically sends a legal notice to any new domains including Ebay in it's name.
AppleReview is less likely to get shutdown than AppleStore.
- livewyre - 04-28-2014 03:40 AM
Whether it's actually 'illegal' or not is unclear, but you can be forced to handover the domain name to the company that owns the registered trade name. This may not sound too bad, but the real downside is that you may get charged all sorts of legal expenses from the time the first solicitors letter gets written.
It is by far the better option to steer completely clear of using a trade name in your domain, the consequences may be dire. Instead use the generic terms of 'tablet' 'mobile device' etc.. you could probably even use the term 'android' without negative consequences. As you say, content is immaterial here, the point is that if the company concerned can show that you are directing their web 'traffic' away from their site by using their name, you could end up regretting it.
If you want a definite answer, you could always contact the company to ask if they mind, but the chances are that they will mind because they will not be able to control your content - you could say what you like about them, and they're hardly going to agree to that.
In brief....don't do it..