April 18, 2013
A US law firm has advised businesses and community groups to register phrases used in slogans and marketing campaigns - before somebody else does.
It's not uncommon for new words that are coined or even catchy phrases to be registered soon after they are publicly uttered - and often not by the person who came up with them.
Some people search the news and industry missives looking for these sorts of opportunities; in the hope that an event, word or phrase will gain popularity and in turn, the domain name possibly become quite valuable.
But it's not just the online world where these phrases are scooped up. It can happen as a result of meetings or even just general conversation.
US-based InfoLawGroup recently relayed an incident whereby a marketing phrase being discussed in a meeting with various businesses in attendance was apparently registered by one of the attendees - and the name was then redirected to the web site of the company the person worked for.
A lengthy and expensive legal battle ensued, but the registrant was able to retain the name. Even if legal action had been ultimately successful, the old saying about ounces of prevention and pounds of cure remain very relevant.
"The real moral of the story is that organizations that are adopting trademarks as part of a branding campaign should take at least the minimal steps necessary to protect those proposed marks," says Evan Brown; Senior Counsel with InfoLawGroup.
Our guide to registering domain names recommends Australian businesses primarily doing business in Australia should always at the very least register the .com.au, net.au and .com version of their names and should also consider registering names associated with their products and events for similar reasons.
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How to register a name: Enter your choice in the search tool and click 'GO'. If after the check the domain names search results show your choice is available, you will then have the option to proceed to purchase registration; which is a very quick and easy process - start a search and find your ideal website address now.
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