closed BingSEM.com ---- Trade Mark?

[foxecon]

Hi,

Going over my little inventory that I haven't touched in several years and I got this one Bingsem.com
Does some traffice as a rss/wordpress site.
So, is it worth keeping? :cheesy:

Thinking about an Internet Agency/Marketing company could use this for redirects or to gather business if they are Bing certified.

Any thoughts?

 

[angel69]

Bing + SEM ? lol as in the MS's search engine name plus Search Engine Marketing .... it's too much of a threat to own this, Bingsem could be a name or word in some language, you may even say your dog has that name if push comes to shove but still.... it's not worth keeping imo, so try to ditch it asap, if you get reg fee (or what you paid for it) back, then cool, if not watch out for TMs, Bing is pretty well known by now the world over and SEM, well.....Bing has a lot to do in that space, so owning it would just make the domain a walking lawsuit..... :-(

 

[Gerry]

anything close or remotely similar to the service BING is walking on a thin line.

All you need to do is look up all the MS lawsuits against such names (and their owners) and that would be enough to scare anyone. Or should be enough. It was certainly enough for me. You would need to pay attention to how MS were filing these actions...not in URDP or not in front of some panel. MS takes the action strait to district and federal courts with lawsuits.

 

[foxecon]

Thanks for the response. You both brought up a concern that I had. There is one thing I should have added. I applied to Microsoft to be an affiliate for the company with this domain and they approved me. If your company is a Bing Certified SEM partner with Microsoft, would that alter how you look at using the domain?
:?:

 

[angel69]

No way they'll let you use it even if you're an affiliate. If you were using it as part of some domain including BING as a nickname, or even a last name, or a pet's name, or some eatery you've owned for 10 yrs named BingsColdCuts.com, or for some other reason that could be explained away, then you could articulate an argument for its use. But BING being what it is, ie search, and SEM being an acronym for a search term make this 99.99% impossible imo...

Thanks for the response. You both brought up a concern that I had. There is one thing I should have added. I applied to Microsoft to be an affiliate for the company with this domain and they approved me. If your company is a Bing Certified SEM partner with Microsoft, would that alter how you look at using the domain?
:?:

 

[foxecon]

Hi Angel,
Sorry, I wasn't clear on that point. I was approved my Microsoft as an affiliate to use the domain BingSEM.com. I have been using it for a couple of years now. I haven't made much money using it but Microsoft did approve my application and sent me links to use. In fact. Call it stupidity or chutzpah. I sent Microsoft an email asking them if they want the domain. I let them know that they had approved me as an affiliate to use the domain. No response yet.

No way they'll let you use it even if you're an affiliate. If you were using it as part of some domain including BING as a nickname, or even a last name, or a pet's name, or some eatery you've owned for 10 yrs named BingsColdCuts.com, or for some other reason that could be explained away, then you could articulate an argument for its use. But BING being what it is, ie search, and SEM being an acronym for a search term make this 99.99% impossible imo...