[MoneyBusiness]

Hi everyone,

Ok, I may just be paranoid here, but I was looking over my log of visitors for one particular site, and noticed it was from a law office. Nothing big, but it got me thinking of the domain name I was using, and whether it's a legitimate use of the name.

The domain name is "nascarXXXXXXXX.com". Where XXXXX refers to a particular race. The only thing on the site are some articles regarding the history of the race, and links to the major tickets vendors (i.e., stubhub, etc).

Is this domain name safe to use? Or should I dump it? I just put it up a few weeks ago, and didn't really give it much thought until now...dumb I know.

Any advice, thoughts, or guidance would be very much appreciated.

Thanks,

MB

[BatteryFuelPatrick]

1. Visitors - I would not be concerned at all. You will get visitors from EVERYPLACE. Sharp eye though!

2. Is NASCAR a trademark/copyright ? If so you will go to jail and people will forget about you forever :) I know from my real estate days that the word REALTOR is this way.

I'd check into it. ;)

[7-days]

Regarding your second questio I think any time you use a tradename or trademark protected name in a URL you are at risk. No if you use GreenGrassSeeds.com to and there is a company out there called GreenGrassNursery, it's not quite the same because those are common words.

[SeymourButts]

Something to read...

National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. v. Racing Connection / The Racin’ Connection, Inc. (http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisions/html/2007/d2007-1524.html)

...
The disputed Domain Name <nascartours.com> is registered with Network Solutions, LLC.
...

[MoneyBusiness]

Thanks for the reply guys. I see a ton of domain names of the same manner already registered. Many are active in selling as well. But that doesn't tell me much I suppose.

I haven't made any money off the site yet nor put much into it - so I don't think it's worth it (even though I see the potential). May drop it. Hell, I don't know.

[internetattorney]

Nascar is definitely trademarked. For confirmation just go here (they've got a number of related trademarked terms):

http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=toc&state=rb2sen.1.1&p_search=searchss&p_L=50&BackReference=&p_plural=yes&p_s_PARA1=&p_tagrepl%7E%3A=PARA1%24LD&expr=PARA1+AND+PARA2&p_s_PARA2=nascar&p_tagrepl%7E%3A=PARA2%24COMB&p_op_ALL=AND&a_default=search&a_search=Submit+Query

What usually happens in these situations is that the owner of the brand, or their counsel, contacts the domain owner and asked them to shut the site down as they do not have permission to use Nascar's mark in association with said website. With that said, it's very possible that NASCAR won't contact you and you're fine. It comes back to how vigilantly the owner of the mark seeks to protect their brand.

-IA

PS Sorry for being away for so long, but I started a new position recently and have been concentrated my efforts there. I hope to be make more regular appearances on Abestweb from now on.

Hi everyone,

Ok, I may just be paranoid here, but I was looking over my log of visitors for one particular site, and noticed it was from a law office. Nothing big, but it got me thinking of the domain name I was using, and whether it's a legitimate use of the name.

The domain name is "nascarXXXXXtickets.com". Where XXXXX refers to a particular race. The only thing on the site are some articles regarding the history of the race, and links to the major tickets vendors (i.e., stubhub, etc).

Is this domain name safe to use? Or should I dump it? I just put it up a few weeks ago, and didn't really give it much thought until now...dumb I know.

Any advice, thoughts, or guidance would be very much appreciated.

Thanks,

MB

[MoneyBusiness]

Thanks IA - after doing some research, that's what seems to be the case, as I understand domain disputes are a pain in the butt to go through (for the complainant).

At this point in my life though, it's not worth any risk for a non-profitable (as of yet) domain. Too much other stuff going on.

Thanks for the advice again!

MB

[Drewbert]

Different companies react differently to use of their TM within a domain name.

eBay and Porsche are well known stringent defenders.

Many companies whose bottom line is dependent on a fan base (Ford vs GM vs Dodge, sports teams etc) take a greyscale approach. Why would a company try to hurt a fan who had built up a forum with thousands on their fans contributing? That would be BAD for their brand.

Without even looking at the decision, I can guess that NascarTours.com were selling tours to Nascar events, and using that domain name implied they were associated with the brand owner. That's what's known as "pushing your luck".

There are currently approximately 15,000 .com domain names out there with the string "nascar" in them. If you think Nascar is going to be bothered spending 20 million dollars (that's just the filing fees - ignoring the labour content) going after all those names, I think you're crazy.