Domian Names and Legal Issues - What you need to know and why
Selecting a Domain Name
Coming up with a domain name is important and takes time. You do have to make sure others do not have it. What some people may not know is just because you buy a domain name does not mean you have full legal rights to the domain name. If a, .COM, .NET or .ORG is taken I do suggest selecting a domain where all three options are available.
Legal Issues
It is because domain names can be and are registered trademarks. For example let's say chocolatefactory.com is taken but chocolatefactory.net or chocolatefactory.org are available. If the chocolatefactory.com is an official registered trademark then you can be sued by the owner of the domain name.
I can not speak for people who are outside of the United States. Those who are in the United States you can easily check by visiting the United States Patent and Trademark Office. This blog post is just my advice and knowledge I have learned over the years that I wanted to share after a few people kept asking about it in Live Chat.
Outside of the United States
Just because a person is not a citizen of the United States does not mean the laws do not pertain to them. It certainly does and all major countries do have their own set of laws when it comes to the internet and online businesses.
It does not matter where a person lives they can still be sued according to International Laws. Make wise choices from the beginning and the person should make sure they are protected under the laws in their own country. Another thing to consider is checking the list of countries your country allows you to do business with. It would be sad to see someone from Weathly Affiliate get into a heap of trouble when he/she could have just done a little research.
Disclaimer: This post is NOT legal advice and I am NOT a lawyer. I simply speak from experience and having done my own research for my own businesses.
Recent Comments
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Thanks for this important info, Roseberry. I'll have to check into mine. I have the .com on both of my domains.
I wrote this quickly last night and added to it early morning my time. I don't write much blogs on WA as I prefer to work more on my blogs/freelance businesses. So yes very much true :)
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Very important and probably oft overlooked information, Roseberry!
That is exactly what I thought as there are some things that are not taught. Which is not a good thing in my opinion. This is business after all and everyone should know all the important information.
Very true!
Jeff