Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Illinois

copyright infringment

Would it be infringement (or illegal in any way) to operate a website using the domain name

''www. youtune. com''? There is already a site named ''youtune. biz'', and a record lable named youtune. (Spaces in url were necessary to send question)


Asked on 5/05/08, 1:10 am

3 Answers from Attorneys

Justin Lampel Lampel & Associates, P.C.

Re: copyright infringment

Your question revolves around trademark law, not copyright law. The key issue is "does the existing .biz website have trademark rights in their domain name." To answer this you would need to find out 1) if the existing company has a trademark registration (you can check the United States Patent and Trademark Office website) and 2) even if the existing company does not have a trademark application on file or registered, the existing company may have common law rights to anything close to youtune...including the domain name you wish to use. To determine if the existing company has common law rights you need to examine the extent of the existing company's use. Without the benefit of further information, it appears that you may run into problems in the future if plan on operating a similar business as the existing .biz company. Seeking legal counsel may be helpful in your case for a more complete examination of the issues. Hope this helped, Justin Lampel

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Answered on 5/05/08, 10:03 am
Justin Lampel Lampel & Associates, P.C.

Re: copyright infringment

Your question revolves around trademark law, not copyright law. The key issue is "does the existing .biz website have trademark rights in their domain name." To answer this you would need to find out 1) if the existing company has a trademark registration (you can check the United States Patent and Trademark Office website) and 2) even if the existing company does not have a trademark application on file or registered, the existing company may have common law rights to anything close to youtune...including the domain name you wish to use. To determine if the existing company has common law rights you need to examine the extent of the existing company's use. Without the benefit of further information, it appears that you may run into problems in the future if plan on operating a similar business as the existing .biz company. Seeking legal counsel may be helpful in your case for a more complete examination of the issues. Hope this helped, Justin Lampel

Read more
Answered on 5/05/08, 10:03 am
Justin Lampel Lampel & Associates, P.C.

Re: copyright infringment

Your question revolves around trademark law, not copyright law. The key issue is "does the existing .biz website have trademark rights in their domain name." To answer this you would need to find out 1) if the existing company has a trademark registration (you can check the United States Patent and Trademark Office website) and 2) even if the existing company does not have a trademark application on file or registered, the existing company may have common law rights to anything close to youtune...including the domain name you wish to use. To determine if the existing company has common law rights you need to examine the extent of the existing company's use. Without the benefit of further information, it appears that you may run into problems in the future if plan on operating a similar business as the existing .biz company. Seeking legal counsel may be helpful in your case for a more complete examination of the issues. Hope this helped, Justin Lampel

Read more
Answered on 5/05/08, 10:03 am


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