Domain Name Trademarks
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Richard_Chapo]Richard Chapo
As your Internet business grows, the value of your domain name increases. The issue of a domain name trademark should move to the top of your list. You need to guard against unscrupulous competitors that may try to incorporate your domain name in
their meta tags to obtain search engine rankings under your name. If you have a domain name trademark, you can go after these individuals and compel the search engines to remove their listings.
What Is A Trademark?
A trademark is a distinctive item that is used to identify a
logo, product, device, package or service. The trademark
identifies the item as being provided by a particular firm. To
protect these items you can obtain a mark from the patent and
trademark office that prohibits others from trying to gain
economic advantage from your mark.
Domain Name
The patent and trademark office views domain names in a unique
way. The office views the “http://www” element as a part of
the file transfer process, not your domain name. The “.com”,
“.net”, etc., designations are considered top-level domain
identifiers and are also disregarded for the purpose of a
domain name trademark. For example, our domain name is http://www.sandiegobusinesslawfirm.com. If we submitted the
domain name for registration, only the
“sandiegobusinesslawfirm” portion would be considered for a
mark.
Locators Cannot Be Registered
A domain name is a locator for file pages. When you type in
your domain name, a server locates and displays files. If a
domain is used solely for this purpose, it will not be granted
a mark. Instead, the domain name must be incorporated into the
site. For instance, Amazon is recognized as an online
bookstore and the site actually has the word “Amazon” on every
page. Since "Amazon.com" is more than a locator, Amazon can
apply for and receive a trademark. If Amazon used the domain
name, bookstore.com, the company would be able to register
“Amazon”, but not “bookstore.”
Generic and Descriptive Terms
Domain names that are generic or descriptive in nature cannot
be registered because they fail to designate a distinctive
product or service. For example, “sandiegobusinesslawfirm” is
comprised of generic terms and describes who and where we are,
to wit, a San Diego business law firm. This domain name cannot
be trademarked. The same result would occur with bank.com,
book.com, advice.com, etc.
You may be thinking, “What about ‘Coke?’ "Coke" is a
trademarked term because it is a distinctive term for a soft
drink product. It just so happens that a brilliant marketing
plan has convinced most people to refer to soft drinks as
“cokes”, even if they actually prefer another brand!
Trademarks are an important factor in protecting your Internet
business. Armed with a trademark, you can keep competitors
from pulling traffic off the search engines when people search
for your site.
Richard Chapo is with http://www.sandiegobusinesslawfirm.com -
a law firm providing legal advice to California businesses.
This article is for general education purposes and does not
address every facet of the subject matter. Nothing in this
article creates an attorney-client relationship.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Chapo http://EzineArticles.com/?Domain-Name-Trademarks&id=19286
As your Internet business grows, the value of your domain name increases. The issue of a domain name trademark should move to the top of your list. You need to guard against unscrupulous competitors that may try to incorporate your domain name in
their meta tags to obtain search engine rankings under your name. If you have a domain name trademark, you can go after these individuals and compel the search engines to remove their listings.
What Is A Trademark?
A trademark is a distinctive item that is used to identify a
logo, product, device, package or service. The trademark
identifies the item as being provided by a particular firm. To
protect these items you can obtain a mark from the patent and
trademark office that prohibits others from trying to gain
economic advantage from your mark.
Domain Name
The patent and trademark office views domain names in a unique
way. The office views the “http://www” element as a part of
the file transfer process, not your domain name. The “.com”,
“.net”, etc., designations are considered top-level domain
identifiers and are also disregarded for the purpose of a
domain name trademark. For example, our domain name is http://www.sandiegobusinesslawfirm.com. If we submitted the
domain name for registration, only the
“sandiegobusinesslawfirm” portion would be considered for a
mark.
Locators Cannot Be Registered
A domain name is a locator for file pages. When you type in
your domain name, a server locates and displays files. If a
domain is used solely for this purpose, it will not be granted
a mark. Instead, the domain name must be incorporated into the
site. For instance, Amazon is recognized as an online
bookstore and the site actually has the word “Amazon” on every
page. Since "Amazon.com" is more than a locator, Amazon can
apply for and receive a trademark. If Amazon used the domain
name, bookstore.com, the company would be able to register
“Amazon”, but not “bookstore.”
Generic and Descriptive Terms
Domain names that are generic or descriptive in nature cannot
be registered because they fail to designate a distinctive
product or service. For example, “sandiegobusinesslawfirm” is
comprised of generic terms and describes who and where we are,
to wit, a San Diego business law firm. This domain name cannot
be trademarked. The same result would occur with bank.com,
book.com, advice.com, etc.
You may be thinking, “What about ‘Coke?’ "Coke" is a
trademarked term because it is a distinctive term for a soft
drink product. It just so happens that a brilliant marketing
plan has convinced most people to refer to soft drinks as
“cokes”, even if they actually prefer another brand!
Trademarks are an important factor in protecting your Internet
business. Armed with a trademark, you can keep competitors
from pulling traffic off the search engines when people search
for your site.
Richard Chapo is with http://www.sandiegobusinesslawfirm.com -
a law firm providing legal advice to California businesses.
This article is for general education purposes and does not
address every facet of the subject matter. Nothing in this
article creates an attorney-client relationship.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Chapo http://EzineArticles.com/?Domain-Name-Trademarks&id=19286
read more - Domain Name Trademarks
Got a Small Business? Choose the Right Domain Name
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Blake_Kritzberg]Blake Kritzberg
Choosing a domain name can be daunting. Research the subject (after all, you're the type of marketer who researches, right?) and you'll be hit with a landslide of opinions, most contradictory. There is, however, two points that everyone agrees on:
Pick your domain before you launch your business.
This is especially true if your market niche has lots of competition. Research your domain before you commit to a business plan.
Don't wait too long if you like a domain.
While you're researching, you'll likely come across a couple of domains that attract you. You might be tempted to wait, since you haven't finalized or refined your business plan. Don't. A handful of domains isn't going to cost you much at an affordable registrar like GoDaddy, and once they're gone, they're gone. Chances are you can even resell the rejects at cost, if not a profit. Or "develop" them with unique content and point them to your main site for extra traffic.
Now that we have the easy part of the way, let's wade into murkier waters.
Q. Which TLD (top-level domain) is best?
A. If you're a juggernaut in the business world with a giant ad budget, the answer is dot-com (.com). If you're a smalltime business struggling for search engine positioning, the answer is still dot-com.
People do disagree on the value of a dot-com TLD. Some assert that dot-coms have no particular value in the search engines, which may be true.
However, the fact is, if you haven't yet seared your brand on the collective brow of the planet, dot-com makes you easier to remember. If you eschew dot-coms, then in some deep dark place inside, people will remember you as "that hard-to-remember URL with the ending that isn't dot-com." What's worse, if you pick an otherwise memorable domain ending in dot-net, -us, or (God forbid) -tv, some of your traffic will end up at that competitor who snagged the dot-com version of your domain. Okay, that's settled. Now for the controversial stuff. Which is best: the "keyword" domain, or the "creative-genius, snappy and brandable" domain?
Keyword Name vs. Creative-Genius Brandable Name
A Keyword Name is the boring, workhorse kind of domain. You seem them everywhere. They bristle with hyphens: "best-anchovy-pizza-in-siberia.com." Or "super-labrador-accessories-and-golfballs.biz." On the face of it, they're hard to brand. They're hard to fit on business cards. They're really hard to explain over the phone to Aunt Martha.
On the other hand, a Creative-Genius Brandable Name is the sexy kind of domain. The successes are sparkling: Yahoo!, Google, Amazon.com. You can shout these URLs across the room and the other guy will probably get it right. But note: the dot-com road is littered with hip, snappy business who failed to brand their product successfully, or get listed high in the search engines. Now their URLs all point to the same page: "server not found …"
The debate rages on, but the first question you must ask yourself is:
How will people find YOU?
It was recently reported that "direct navigation" web traffic has started to outnumber search engine traffic. In other words, more people visit sites by typing in the URL directly than they do by combing search engines for results. So more gurus are recommending ‘brandable' domains.
But think about this. As a small business owner, how will people find you? Word of mouth? Billboards on I-95? "Corporate sponsorships" on hockey arenas? Probably not: they'll find you through search engines. They'll type in "cheap purple widgets," and as a smart marketer, you will offer them a website optimized for the keywords "cheap purple widgets."
Still, this doesn't imply you should automatically pick a keyword domain. There are pros and cons to both types.
BRANDABLE: ADVANTAGES
The brandable domain is great for business cards. In fact, it's nearly compulsory if you're planning on offline marketing. In other words, if you're printing up stationary at Kinkos, you want a brandable domain name.
If you're also a marketing genius, this is a fit challenge for your talents. Finding a memorable, apt domain to brand your business is something no software-driven suggestion tool can do.
Most "hybrid" domains -- ones that are really crosses between keywords and brandable names -- are long gone. But if you create a unique idea for your brand, you can probably snag the dot-com name for yourself. Now all you have to do is burn that brand onto the world's collective forehead. If you do, you'll benefit from type-in traffic. That means that if someone hears about you, they can probably find you just buy typing in your domain.
BRANDABLE: DISADVANTAGES
The brandable name requires solid marketing skill, research and luck. Your name should be so catchy, it's almost viral. It should also convey your actual business – or you'll have to work hard (often meaning, spend money) to associate the two. Your name should be "tested" on coworkers, cousins and dishwasher repairmen to ensure it has no undesirable connotations. Finally, your name should be available as a domain, and not suffer from competitors with similar domains. Sometimes, pulling all this off is difficult.
KEYWORD: ADVANTAGES
By keyword names, we're not talking about the glorious generic keywords – the one-keyword kings such as drugs.com or business.com. No, we're talking keyword names you can afford.
This is where you buy the domain name www.cheap-purple-widgets.com in hopes of getting a top search ranking for cheap purple widgets.
Advantages are many. First, more keyword names are available. (They're ugly, and many people feel an aversion to hyphens.) Also, they do help you place higher in the search engines. It's true that search engines only give you a little credit for having a keyword in your domain, but "a little credit" counts.
Second, keyword domains leave no doubt in the searcher's mind about what you're selling. If you decided to call your widget business "Ableeza," a searcher might not get at a glance what it is you're selling, even if your rank is high.
Finally, if you can get people to link to you, those links will be valuable. No matter how Webmaster Joe describes you, the link part will always say, "cheap-purple-widgets." This is a powerful search engine strategy for moving higher.
KEYWORD: DISADVANTAGES
You won't get type-in traffic for a keyword name. You can't really explain it across a phone. It won't look pretty on a business card, and it's almost impossible to pair up with a cute logo. But if search engine traffic is going to drive your business, the keyword name is worth a long, hard look.
WRAP-UP
Regardless of which type you choose, don't play guessing games. If you go with a keyword name, use a search tool (like http://conversion.7search.com/scripts/advertisertools/keywordsuggestion.aspx to determine what keyword phrases people are searching on.
If you choose a brandable name instead, test it out on a variety of real people first. Pay attention to their reactions. Reserve your domain early, since brandable domains go fast unless they're very unique.
In the long run, both types of domains can work for you, especially if offline marketing is an option and you have a knack for branding. Overall, though, the keyword domain is probably the easiest path to success for the small-business owner.
Blake Kritzberg is editor of FavorIdeas. Stop by for continually-updated celebrity
wedding news, remarkable [http://www.favorideas.com/wedding-themes/beach-themes/beach-wedding-favor-ideas/]beach wedding favors, exclusive hairstyling articles and gorgeous and [http://www.favorideas.com/]unique wedding favors.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Blake_Kritzberg http://EzineArticles.com/?Got-a-Small-Business?--Choose-the-Right-Domain-Name&id=16324
Choosing a domain name can be daunting. Research the subject (after all, you're the type of marketer who researches, right?) and you'll be hit with a landslide of opinions, most contradictory. There is, however, two points that everyone agrees on:
Pick your domain before you launch your business.
This is especially true if your market niche has lots of competition. Research your domain before you commit to a business plan.
Don't wait too long if you like a domain.
While you're researching, you'll likely come across a couple of domains that attract you. You might be tempted to wait, since you haven't finalized or refined your business plan. Don't. A handful of domains isn't going to cost you much at an affordable registrar like GoDaddy, and once they're gone, they're gone. Chances are you can even resell the rejects at cost, if not a profit. Or "develop" them with unique content and point them to your main site for extra traffic.
Now that we have the easy part of the way, let's wade into murkier waters.
Q. Which TLD (top-level domain) is best?
A. If you're a juggernaut in the business world with a giant ad budget, the answer is dot-com (.com). If you're a smalltime business struggling for search engine positioning, the answer is still dot-com.
People do disagree on the value of a dot-com TLD. Some assert that dot-coms have no particular value in the search engines, which may be true.
However, the fact is, if you haven't yet seared your brand on the collective brow of the planet, dot-com makes you easier to remember. If you eschew dot-coms, then in some deep dark place inside, people will remember you as "that hard-to-remember URL with the ending that isn't dot-com." What's worse, if you pick an otherwise memorable domain ending in dot-net, -us, or (God forbid) -tv, some of your traffic will end up at that competitor who snagged the dot-com version of your domain. Okay, that's settled. Now for the controversial stuff. Which is best: the "keyword" domain, or the "creative-genius, snappy and brandable" domain?
Keyword Name vs. Creative-Genius Brandable Name
A Keyword Name is the boring, workhorse kind of domain. You seem them everywhere. They bristle with hyphens: "best-anchovy-pizza-in-siberia.com." Or "super-labrador-accessories-and-golfballs.biz." On the face of it, they're hard to brand. They're hard to fit on business cards. They're really hard to explain over the phone to Aunt Martha.
On the other hand, a Creative-Genius Brandable Name is the sexy kind of domain. The successes are sparkling: Yahoo!, Google, Amazon.com. You can shout these URLs across the room and the other guy will probably get it right. But note: the dot-com road is littered with hip, snappy business who failed to brand their product successfully, or get listed high in the search engines. Now their URLs all point to the same page: "server not found …"
The debate rages on, but the first question you must ask yourself is:
How will people find YOU?
It was recently reported that "direct navigation" web traffic has started to outnumber search engine traffic. In other words, more people visit sites by typing in the URL directly than they do by combing search engines for results. So more gurus are recommending ‘brandable' domains.
But think about this. As a small business owner, how will people find you? Word of mouth? Billboards on I-95? "Corporate sponsorships" on hockey arenas? Probably not: they'll find you through search engines. They'll type in "cheap purple widgets," and as a smart marketer, you will offer them a website optimized for the keywords "cheap purple widgets."
Still, this doesn't imply you should automatically pick a keyword domain. There are pros and cons to both types.
BRANDABLE: ADVANTAGES
The brandable domain is great for business cards. In fact, it's nearly compulsory if you're planning on offline marketing. In other words, if you're printing up stationary at Kinkos, you want a brandable domain name.
If you're also a marketing genius, this is a fit challenge for your talents. Finding a memorable, apt domain to brand your business is something no software-driven suggestion tool can do.
Most "hybrid" domains -- ones that are really crosses between keywords and brandable names -- are long gone. But if you create a unique idea for your brand, you can probably snag the dot-com name for yourself. Now all you have to do is burn that brand onto the world's collective forehead. If you do, you'll benefit from type-in traffic. That means that if someone hears about you, they can probably find you just buy typing in your domain.
BRANDABLE: DISADVANTAGES
The brandable name requires solid marketing skill, research and luck. Your name should be so catchy, it's almost viral. It should also convey your actual business – or you'll have to work hard (often meaning, spend money) to associate the two. Your name should be "tested" on coworkers, cousins and dishwasher repairmen to ensure it has no undesirable connotations. Finally, your name should be available as a domain, and not suffer from competitors with similar domains. Sometimes, pulling all this off is difficult.
KEYWORD: ADVANTAGES
By keyword names, we're not talking about the glorious generic keywords – the one-keyword kings such as drugs.com or business.com. No, we're talking keyword names you can afford.
This is where you buy the domain name www.cheap-purple-widgets.com in hopes of getting a top search ranking for cheap purple widgets.
Advantages are many. First, more keyword names are available. (They're ugly, and many people feel an aversion to hyphens.) Also, they do help you place higher in the search engines. It's true that search engines only give you a little credit for having a keyword in your domain, but "a little credit" counts.
Second, keyword domains leave no doubt in the searcher's mind about what you're selling. If you decided to call your widget business "Ableeza," a searcher might not get at a glance what it is you're selling, even if your rank is high.
Finally, if you can get people to link to you, those links will be valuable. No matter how Webmaster Joe describes you, the link part will always say, "cheap-purple-widgets." This is a powerful search engine strategy for moving higher.
KEYWORD: DISADVANTAGES
You won't get type-in traffic for a keyword name. You can't really explain it across a phone. It won't look pretty on a business card, and it's almost impossible to pair up with a cute logo. But if search engine traffic is going to drive your business, the keyword name is worth a long, hard look.
WRAP-UP
Regardless of which type you choose, don't play guessing games. If you go with a keyword name, use a search tool (like http://conversion.7search.com/scripts/advertisertools/keywordsuggestion.aspx to determine what keyword phrases people are searching on.
If you choose a brandable name instead, test it out on a variety of real people first. Pay attention to their reactions. Reserve your domain early, since brandable domains go fast unless they're very unique.
In the long run, both types of domains can work for you, especially if offline marketing is an option and you have a knack for branding. Overall, though, the keyword domain is probably the easiest path to success for the small-business owner.
Blake Kritzberg is editor of FavorIdeas. Stop by for continually-updated celebrity
wedding news, remarkable [http://www.favorideas.com/wedding-themes/beach-themes/beach-wedding-favor-ideas/]beach wedding favors, exclusive hairstyling articles and gorgeous and [http://www.favorideas.com/]unique wedding favors.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Blake_Kritzberg http://EzineArticles.com/?Got-a-Small-Business?--Choose-the-Right-Domain-Name&id=16324
read more - Got a Small Business? Choose the Right Domain Name
