That's right I am going to show you the super secret, only known by lawyers and masons, way to trademark your website for free.
It's amazing how that even to webmasters, who understand that free really is not free, the term free is still such a powerful draw. Well I promised to show you the super secret, only known by lawyers and free masons, way to trademark your site and here it is:
[PUT THE LETTERS "tm" BY YOUR SITES NAME]
Yes, you can common law trademark your site by doing business with the site and designating the site as trademarked with those two letters.
That begs the questions of why lawyers are always saying that you must register your trademark with the Patent and Trademark office, perform a exhaustive trademark search and pay them $750.00 to $1,500 dollars for the process.
The reason that your attorney gives you that advice is that a common law trademark does not really protect you fully. Also, if you common law trademark your site without an exhaustive search you may be violating someone else's trademark.
See trademarks are not like domain names. You cannot just go to the patent and trademark office, perform an Internet trademark search and use a name you find is not registered. The whole concept of trade marking a product or service is a little more complicated than that.
"In reality though you are in business to make money - not to litigate." |
First, you have to decide whether you should be trademarked or have a service mark. This is basically one of the easier concepts to understand under trademark law. If you sell a product than you should have a trademark. If you sell a service than you should have a service mark. So I am an attorney who provides a service. I would therefore need a service mark instead of a trademark. I would have to put the letters "sm" for service mark by my name.
Secondly, you have to decide whether your name can even be trademarked. Remember, trademarks are not like domain names. You cannot just see if the name is not registered and then swoop it up. A good example would be Coca Cola®. If Coca Cola® forgot to renew their registration do you honestly think that you could register the name Coca Cola® and not have a buzzards army of attorneys dive in for the kill.
Also, some names cannot be trademarked. Under Federal law there is a whole laundry list of what can and cannot be registered. Here again is another reason to pay the $750.00 to $1,500 to your attorney instead of doing it for free.
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Simply put unique names can be registered while barely descriptive names cannot. So if I tried to trademark the names AdultSiteLaw.com, HelpWithLaw.com, AdultInternetLaw.com or Free-Passwords.com, I would have a weak case since they are mostly descriptive of the service or product.
This again is another reason to pay the money and register it with the Patent and Trademark office. If your attorney gets the descriptive trademark through eventually you may perfect the trademark even in a weak descriptive name. This is a very simple definition of a complex area of trademark law and I know the lawyers reading this are cringing in their briefs.
If you have a unique name you will probably want to have it trademarked. Again, think of the trademarks Coca Cola, Pepsi and even Xerox. Over the years those trademarks have become synonymous with their products and have become part of the American language. If your name is unique and you want it to stand out get it trademarked.
One final reason not to do the common law trademark is disputes. If you try and trademark the name FREE-PICTURES do you really want to have to try and enforce that across the Internet? You will make many, many lawyers happy if you take that tact.
Now that does not mean that you should not vigorously defend your trademark. On the contrary the law requires that you prevent infringements. In reality though you are in business to make money - not to litigate.
So in conclusion, choose your trademark names carefully. Do not think you will have a complete license on descriptive names just because you have the domain name. If you truly believe in your name pay the money and have it Federally registered so you can notify the world of your trademark. Finally remember you are in business to make money not litigate.