Suppose I offer an online service called, for example, Great Happiness. And suppose I use a website with the domain GreatHappiness.com, through which I market my service.
If I register "Great Happiness" as my trademark, am I fully protected? Would I also need to register "greathappiness.com" as a trademark? And would I also need to register GreatHappiness (without the space), or did I already protect "GreatHappiness" by registering "Great Happiness"?
I'm not concerned about trademarking images - just the name with these types of variations.
Hoping I can protect my trademark name without spending a fortune registering numerous variations.
Much thanks in advance!
Afilyit
May 16th, 2008, 10:37 AM
Suppose I offer an online service called, for example, Great Happiness. And suppose I use a website with the domain GreatHappiness.com, through which I market my service.
If I register "Great Happiness" as my trademark, am I fully protected? Would I also need to register "greathappiness.com" as a trademark? And would I also need to register GreatHappiness (without the space), or did I already protect "GreatHappiness" by registering "Great Happiness"?
I'm not concerned about trademarking images - just the name with these types of variations.
Hoping I can protect my trademark name without spending a fortune registering numerous variations.
Much thanks in advance!
I had a similar dilemma buy my name and domain name were 1 word, and the word I trademarked was original. Then I had to do the domain to prevent others from attempting to captilize on it.
I assume it's best to consult an attorney.
MichaelColey
May 17th, 2008, 08:55 AM
I'm looking forward to hearing the suggestion from IA.
Drewbert
May 17th, 2008, 05:33 PM
I had a similar dilemma buy my name and domain name were 1 word, and the word I trademarked was original. Then I had to do the domain to prevent others from attempting to captilize on it.
If you had a TM on <word> already, I think TM'ing <word>.com was a waste of money because if you look through UDRP decisions you will find that they ignore the domain extension when determining if the TM and the domain match up.
Afilyit
May 17th, 2008, 05:49 PM
If that's the case, why so many trademarks by Amazon?
Not needed, if you own "mysite" and it is TM'd no one could ever get "mysite.com" trademarked or any other tld added to a mark.
Plenty of case law on it.
ProWebAddict
May 17th, 2008, 06:47 PM
If that's the case, why so many trademarks by Amazon?
Because they can afford it...???
Afilyit
May 17th, 2008, 07:12 PM
Not needed, if you own "mysite" and it is TM'd no one could ever get "mysite.com" trademarked or any other tld added to a mark.
Plenty of case law on it.
I'm not an attorney, and I certainly don't know the law, but I don't know how someone can trademark 1 word - like "Amazon" for example.
Drewbert
May 17th, 2008, 10:58 PM
Well, here's a clue.
If I design a hot new surfboard, and I decide I want to call it "radio", I can probably get a TM for it. If I design a hot new radio and I decide I want a TM "radio" for that sort of product, I'm probably out of luck.
Mr_C
May 18th, 2008, 12:33 AM
I'm not an attorney either, but from what I know of trademark law you can't just go out and register any name, word or phrase as a trademark and expect that just because you staked a claim, or staked it first, that you "own" it and are protected.
One of the things I've noticed is that in the affiliate world "trademark" seems to be used in the sense of "well, this is a keyword I use to describe my product, or this is my domain name, therefore I own the trademark on it and you must not bid on it".
A trademark is a UNIQUE and DISTINCTIVE sign or symbol used to identify the SOURCE of a product or service. Establishing a trademark involves one or both of two things: 1) either using it or having used it in the marketplace for some duration of time, or 2) registering with some authority, registry or patent office. Based on these alone, 99.9% of so-called trademarks are, in fact, not even remotely trademarks.
A list of 50 keywords describing your product are especially not trademarks. A domain name is not a trademark just because it's a domain name and you registered it. A company name or logo are not trademarks just because you use them. And you can't use any of these to force people not to use common everyday words as keywords.
The only way you're going to know if you have a trademark claim and are protected is to consult a lawyer and do your due diligence. Your claim needs to be properly researched. You need to be advised what you can and cannot do with it.
newestuser
May 18th, 2008, 09:02 AM
not an atty, but I think just your 'store name' is sufficient, unless your name is already a familiar term. I think that's why amazon has all those other things, because the word 'amazon' has other meanings, that it's trademark on it's own may not stand up as easily, but amazon.com is more unique, and pretty much only describes them, as do their other variations. If your store "Great Happiness" is unique enough at time of trademark, you should be okay with just that.
Agan, i'm not a lawyer, but I have researched this in the past.
PetsWarehouse.com
May 18th, 2008, 09:38 AM
Four Types of Trademarks
Trademarks are characterized as generic, descriptive, suggestive or arbitrary. Only marks that are suggestive or arbitrary can be initially registered on the Principal Register.
A generic mark is a common word used in connection with goods or services. For example, "apple" is a generic mark that cannot be registered as a trademark to identify products that are apples. Apple® when used to identify computer products, however, is a very strong arbitrary mark that can be registered on the Principal Register. Arbitrary or fanciful marks are preferred by trademark lawyers because they the strongest and easiest to register and defend. A fanciful mark is a type of arbitrary mark that is made up such as Kodak® or Xerox®.
A suggestive mark is a mark that suggests a quality about goods or services. Halo® shampoo is a suggestive mark. Suggestive marks may be registered on the Principal Register.
More often than not, people and businesses want to use a descriptive mark to identify their goods or services. An example of a descriptive mark is "Joe's Bar & Grill" for a business that is a bar and grill. The mark describes the services. If a mark is too descriptive, the USPTO will refuse to register it on the Principal Register, but may allow it to be registered on the Supplemental Register. A descriptive mark that has been registered on the Supplemental Register and used continuously for more than five years may be transferred to the Principal Register.
PetsWarehouse.com
May 18th, 2008, 09:52 AM
Well, here's a clue.
If I design a hot new surfboard, and I decide I want to call it "radio", I can probably get a TM for it. If I design a hot new radio and I decide I want a TM "radio" for that sort of product, I'm probably out of luck.
A better example might be "Amazon surfboards" that can be easily trademarked be cause the word Amazon is being used in a different channel of trade than the Amazon in books.
If you try Amazon (anything to do with books) it will not get approved, or if it did slip thru expect Amazon to sue you real quick.
Understand one other point here TM owners are responsible to "police" their marks. If they didn't go after you for infringement they could lose their exclusive rights to it- that's called aquiessence.
.
FourthWorld
May 18th, 2008, 03:39 PM
Forgive me if this is offbase, but please note that I have no affiliation with these folks other than being a happy customer:
legalzoom.com handles trademark and other routine filings, with surprising ease and at very good rates.
I recently renewed a trademark through them, and will be using them for most other routine filings going forward.
There are times when you truly need an attorney, but even the US PTO recommends filing trademark applications yourself. Personally, I find navigating their system and nomenclature a bit daunting, but the folks at legalzoom.com do this every day and took care of it in short order.
YMMV, but FWIW I've been very happy with them.
internetattorney
May 30th, 2008, 12:39 PM
It would probably be best to register it as GreatHappiness.com as it is an online service, however this is entirely up to you. In regards to protection from other future trademark seekers (ie "Great Happiness" or "GreatHappiness") you would be covered if they seek trademarking the term in a similar business service as to the one you're providing through GreatHappiness.com. Remember that if you sold shoes through GreatHappiness.com, but someone wanted to give, say, spiritual advice services off-line under the Great Happiness tradename, their application for the Trademark would be successful. It is only when a new application creates a likelihood of confusion with existing similar business services is a previous name that you are protected.
Short answer, trademarking one name is likely to be sufficient in this case. If you want to register more, by all means do so.
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