company name but no trademark - DNForum - Domain Sales, Domain Forum, Domain Appraisals, Domain Registrars

10-21-2002, 08:07 AM

Would registering a domain that is a name of a national organization, that is not trademarked however, constitute cybersquatting?

The organization already has a website under that name under a different tld.

Thanks.

**URLtrader** · 10-21-2002, 09:32 AM

If you already know that the domain name is identical to the name of this organisation (but it is not trademarked) you will be in a tight spot if the matter goes to WIPO or Courts . I would stay away from such name.

**jberryhill** · 10-21-2002, 10:25 AM

I often have a hard time understanding (a) why people use the word 'trademark' as if it were a verb, and (b) what basis various people use to determine the non-existence of a trademark.

I have gotten the impression that there are people who believe that a US federal registration of a trademark is the beginning and end of the story. It certainly is not. One can certainly have a valid trademark right in the absence of registration, and one can certainly have a registration and no longer have a valid trademark.

Whether the name of an organization also functions as a trademark depends on whether it is (a) capable of functioning as a trademark, and (b) actually used AS a trademark. Trademark rights accrue through use of the term in commerce as a trademark - i.e. a device which is capable of, and in fact does, serve in the minds of relevant consumers as a distinctive indicator of the source or origin of the goods and services with which the mark is associated. Whether there is a federal registration for the mark has little to do with whether the organization may or may not have an enforcible trademark interest in the term.

**GeorgeK** · 10-21-2002, 10:41 AM

Can one accrue trademark rights if a name is not used in commerce, i.e. for a totally non-profit venture, with zero revenues?

**jberryhill** · 10-21-2002, 11:48 AM

I'm not sure I understand the question. The "in commerce" requirement is much more broadly defined than "for profit".

Do churches have trademarks? Surely many do. As do many charitable organizations.

**GeorgeK** · 10-21-2002, 12:17 PM

Is there an official definition of 'in commerce'?

Drewbert · 10-21-2002, 09:34 PM

>Is there an official definition of 'in commerce'?

Any activity that requires you to furnish a tax return?

**jberryhill** · 10-23-2002, 10:34 AM

No. The term "in commerce" is much broader than that. For example, for the purpose of federal registration, the scope is any activity that may be lawfully regulated by Congress under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution. If you are aware of the various things to which the Commerce Clause has been used as a Constitutional basis for lawmaking, then you can appreciate how wide a swath that is.

As usual, there is no one "official definition", but you will find an extensive discussion, limited to the context of "in commerce" for federal registration, here:

http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/tac/tmep/0900.htm