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**jberryhill** · 03-31-2009, 12:01 PM

The questions are not susceptible of a yes/no answer.

As is common here, the error is assuming that "registration of a trademark" is the be-all and end-all of trademark issues. It's not.

In 2000, I start a company in Wilmington, Delaware which sells "BLEEM" brand dog food. This dog food becomes the most popular brand of dog food in the State of Delaware within months of my launch of the product.

In 2002, you register Bleem.com and start advertising Brand X dog food. You live in Newark, Delaware, in zip code 19711. You run a pet food store in Newark, and you are perfectly aware that BLEEM is a popular brand of dog food.

In 2003, I apply for and obtain federal registration of "BLEEM" for dog food.

Now, nobody is going to give a rip about when I obtained federal registration - what matttered was that you registered BLEEM as a domain name, knowing perfectly well that I was runnning my company just a few miles away, and it was the most popular product in your store. OF COURSE, you registered the domain name with a bad faith intent to exploit my trademark, whether I had registered it or not.

03-31-2009, 12:01 PM	#5 (permalink)
jberryhill Philadelphia Lawyer Last Online: 09-18-2009 01:17 AM iTrader: (1) Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 2,987 DNF$: 6,350	The questions are not susceptible of a yes/no answer. As is common here, the error is assuming that "registration of a trademark" is the be-all and end-all of trademark issues. It's not. In 2000, I start a company in Wilmington, Delaware which sells "BLEEM" brand dog food. This dog food becomes the most popular brand of dog food in the State of Delaware within months of my launch of the product. In 2002, you register Bleem.com and start advertising Brand X dog food. You live in Newark, Delaware, in zip code 19711. You run a pet food store in Newark, and you are perfectly aware that BLEEM is a popular brand of dog food. In 2003, I apply for and obtain federal registration of "BLEEM" for dog food. Now, nobody is going to give a rip about when I obtained federal registration - what matttered was that you registered BLEEM as a domain name, knowing perfectly well that I was runnning my company just a few miles away, and it was the most popular product in your store. OF COURSE, you registered the domain name with a bad faith intent to exploit my trademark, whether I had registered it or not. __________________ John Berryhill Ph.d., esq. John-AT-johnberryhill.com Please do not send private messages via dnforum.com, email me directly.