Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California
Using .org as domain name instead of .com
My business is not a non-profit. While going through the domain name selection process, I had chosen to use .org instead of .com (which is more for commericial use).
Will I face any legal problems in the future if I continue to use .org domain name for my business's website?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Using .org as domain name instead of .com
I am not aware of any law prohibiting the use of ".org" domain names for commercial purposes.
Re: Using .org as domain name instead of .com
The .org Top Level Domain was originally created for use by non-profits organizations and is still commonly used to designate the entity's status as a non-profit organization. However, after the domain name explosion, many others (e.g., individuals and for-profit companies) have registered .org names for their own use - both defensively to prevent third-parties from taking such alternative and offensively to promote their organization.
While it might be frowned upon by some, there is currently no legal prohibition against use of a .org name in your situation (unless you use the .org suffix to intentionally and/or affirmatively mislead consumers about the nature of your organization).
On the other hand, there are certain restricted domain suffixes such as .biz - only for businesses; .gov - only for government entities; and country code restrictions such as: .de (only for persons and businesses residing in Germany), .kr (only for Koreans) and .co (only for Columbians).
For more information about domain names, visit our site: www.namesavers.net
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