Domain Name, Trademarks and Countries

[jallenrr]

I am just after a little advice here. Say a company exists and has a trademark in the USA but no trademarks elsewhere. Say I am in the UK and acquire a domain similar to the trademark, transfer it to a UK registration provider and host it with a UK company. Say I then use it to advertise the same service as they provide but offered by my company.

What are the legals to do with all this? I am thinking as they don't have a trademark in the UK, there is little they can do. Even if they register one, I will of owned the domain before they registered it.

[Chappy]

Does the Company trade in the UK? Remember, a trademark does not have to mean they have it 'registered'...simply evidence of doing business under a tradename in many cases.

As always, the law is complicated...

[jallenrr]

They don't have any company in the UK nor have they registered a trademark. They do sell services to UK based businesses, however, directly from their overseas operation.

[Flexi Web Host]

A company does not need to be active in your country to have an enforceable trademark. Nor do they need to have registered the trademark in your country if the country in question is a member of the Madrid Treaty.

Countries that have signed up
WIPO information on the Madrid Treaty

If you are tempted to register a domain name that contains a trademark then you have to take a calculated guess at whether the risk is going to be beneficial to you.