Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Illinois

domain trademark

I want a name for my biz. the domain name was

registered 10days before I searched for it. If i trade

mark first, will I have rights to it because of the short

time between when they registered and I looked and

formed my biz and put in the trademark papers (there

is no web presents or trademark papers for the name. I

searched that too)? They are in CO and I am in IL. I did

a domain registration search to find this info.


Asked on 2/28/08, 2:39 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
David K. Staub Staub Anderson LLC

Re: domain trademark

There is no easy answer.

The short answer is that common law trademarks are acquired by USE, so that if you start a business and use the name, you MAY acquire rights that prevent the buyer of the domain from using it.

However, since the domain was registered, by your own admission, 10 days before you even searched for it, you will likely have difficulty getting the domain for yourself. I suggest that you read the ICAAN Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy and the related rules.

David K. Staub, business attorney

Read more
Answered on 3/04/08, 12:22 pm


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