Legal Question in Technology Law in South Carolina
Parked Domains and Trademarked Terms
I recently registered and parked several domain names. However, being new to the domain arena, I was unaware of the need to research potential trademark conflicts and have since discovered that a few of my now parked domains consist of verbatim or near verbatim trademarked terms.
I did not register these domains in bad faith, but simply because they sounded good.
My objective was to attract general Pay Per Click ad income and maybe sell the domains at a later date in the aftermarket, with no knowledge of or intent to infringe on the trademark holder's products.
I am now concerned that the trademark holders may sue me or that the UDRP process or other processes could cause me to incurr costs. Should I just cancel my registration of these domains or wait and see if a Cease and Desist letter or other such notice arrives? Ideally I would like to keep these domains, but would not like to invest anything more than my annual registration fee to do so.
I am also now wondering if some of the other domains I registered may fall into similar territory if a company later comes along and registers any of my domain phrases as their trademarked term. Would I have to relinquish those domains to the trademark holder?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Parked Domains and Trademarked Terms
You should review your portfolio with a trademark lawyer to ascertain your best course of action. The only question that you asked that can be easily answered broadly is the last: if you register a domain at a time when no identical trademark is registered, you should be safe against allegations of cybersquatting.
Best wishes,
LDWG