Legal Question in Intellectual Property in New York

Re: Domain v. Trademark

by using the domain name for 10 years on the Internet, your associate has created a common law trademark in the name and you cannot trademark it effectively. That's not to say that you can't file and receive the trademark if a particularly lazy examiner receives the file. But, if you try to enforce it, your associate (or any third-party) can raise as a defense that you are not the owner of a valid registered trademark. Moreover, if you try to enforce it against your associate -- knowing full well that s/he has been using the name for 10 years in interstate commerce (i.e. on the 'net) then you open yourself to possible sanctions and his/her legal fees as well as liability for trademark infringement by the associate who is the rightful owner of the trademark.

Better luck next time.

Re: Domain v. Trademark

The facts you've provided do not offer sufficient information to determine trademark rights. The primary question in trademark is first use in interstate commerce, modified by whether the mark has developed identification as an indicator of a particular source of origin for a product or goods.