Do Not Register Domain Names with Established Brand Names in the Domain

Amyli McDaniel — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 15:55:10 +0000

Another question I get often is whether an online business owner can register a domain name with a big name in their space. The goal here is that the search engines give some value from a search engine perspective to words in a domain name.

For example, if someone sells a product or service related to online auctioning, can they get a domain name like “www.ebay-alternative.com” to help them get traffic to their site?

No- this is only opening the door to trouble. There now is a specific law called the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) passed in 2000. The goal of this law is to stop the misappropriation and improper use of domain names. While there is a lot of complexity in this set of laws and in some cases a use of a name may not be in violation of laws . . . from a business perspective, the bottom line is to not go down the path of using the brand or marks of other companies in your space to build your businesses. URLs are intellectual property and protected under the laws.

I always advise business owners to build their own brand and not try to take advantage of short cuts by using others makes and names in any way without their permission and involvement. Now, if you are doing a business development deal or a co-branding deal with another company, then you can negotiate the use and leverage of the other company’s brand. This topic is the unilateral use- just do not do it.

Intelligent Biz Planning » improper use of domain name

Do Not Register Domain Names with Established Brand Names in the Domain