Author: Marcus Fei
When you’re researching for domain names it’s important to figure out whether or not you should trademark it. There are several business owners out there who utilize keyword tools to find domains, brainstorm to come up with a new name, and various other choices that provide them with a name everyone needs to know. Then again; some people just want to have domain names for other promotional efforts. Whatever category you fall under; there are a few things to consider before making your choice.
How will you use the domain names?
Understanding what you plan to do with your domains will heavily depend on what ones you will purchase or whether you can just use free domains. If you’re purchasing one for a website then this is the one that needs to be trademarked. If you just need to mask your domain names for free blogs or something similar then you probably don’t. However, we’re going to cover several different scenarios that will help you make the right direction.
Think about Domain Hijacking
If you’re not familiar with a domain hijacker; these are the individuals who slightly change the domain to deceive customers into believing they are visiting your site. It does happen a lot more than you might think, so you might consider trademarking your domain names to keep this from happening to you.
Another thing to think about is that some people will counter your site with an “anti” site. The idea of this is to gain your customers, even if they are just hoping these visitors come to click on their Google AdSense. By the end of the day it’s all about making money, and if it means hijacking your domain names then they’re going to do it.
Mingling with the Public
The best suggestion we can give you is if you’re going to share your company name or product with the public then it should be trademarked. It’s the best way to build your client base and your overall popularity, especially when you’re dealing with the Internet. The only problem is if the public ends up being confused by hijackers like we talked about earlier.
Can you afford it?
When people purchase domain names they don’t feel it’s necessary to get a trademark. Unfortunately a lot of this has to do with the overall cost. There aren’t too many people who want to invest another $300 or $400 on trademarking free domains or ones that cost from $1-$20 (depending on the site you use).
The question we should be asking is whether or not you can afford not to have your domain names trademarked. After all, it only takes one site to cost you hundreds or even thousands of dollars worth of sales by stealing your customers. We understand you might not decide to do this in the beginning, but if you are seeing success in your business then this should really be a necessity.
Legal Action
When you have trademarks on your domain names and someone else tries to use it you can sue them. It’s almost like insurance against hijackers and others who are trying to take advantage of your name.