Tell me more ×
Answers OnStartups is a question and answer site for entrepreneurs looking to start or run a new business. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 4 down vote favorite

The person with the similar domain name registered his domain 2 years ago and hasn't put up any content. It's just been parked for 2 years.

Does it seem like there are any legal implications with this? He hasn't published anything, so I don't need to heed to something that doesn't even exist. Correct?

share|improve this question
why did you get the same domain name with .org? Whatever the reason is, you can try contacting the owner of .com and buy it. – Ricardo Nov 3 '10 at 19:02
My business will be a "social purpose" business. It will donate half of its profits to disadvantaged people in a certain region of the world. Thus, the .org designation. – Josh Nov 3 '10 at 19:06

4 Answers

up vote 4 down vote accepted

I would seriously consider either : 1. Renaming your whole product to a .com 2. Purchasing the .com from its existing owner (hopefully they are not using it) If your product does really well under the .org name you will eventually have to buy the .com

I dont know anyone that types in Craigslist.org, and if i owned craigslist.com i would make it as similar to craigslist.org as possible. This is why craigslist bought the .com of their name.

Buy it early, because with your success you will create value for the .com name.

share|improve this answer
up vote 3 down vote

I would try to somehow incorporate the (DOT) org in the logo somehow. Best of luck

share|improve this answer
Thanks for the advice guys. – Josh Nov 4 '10 at 18:07
up vote 3 down vote

I don't think there are any legal implications to worry about (assuming the name isn't Trademarked), but if I were you I would be a little worried about losing traffic to the .com site.

You will surely get some people typing in domain.com instead of domain.org. Right now it's not a big deal because the .com site is parked. When someone types in domain.com, and they end up on a parked site hopefully they will realize that they have the wrong site, and will try searching for you instead. But you run the risk of:

  1. The person not realizing they have the wrong site, and assume that you don't have a website up yet.
  2. The .com domain owner deciding to put up a website of his own, or sell the .com domain to someone else.

If either of those happen you will end up losing traffic. My suggestion is to contact the .com owner and attempt to purchase the .com domain from him.

share|improve this answer
There are legal implications. IANAL but from what he has told us he probably doesn't fit key aspects of ACPA – Jeremy Nov 3 '10 at 20:53
I think ACPA applies only if the plaintiff (hypothetically the owner of the .com domain) had a "protected mark". This domain name is not trademarked nor servicemarked.So I assume that would not hold up in law. – Josh Nov 3 '10 at 21:43
up vote 0 down vote

If you're convinced that the name you've chosen is perfect, then I think you need to either buy the .com or assure yourself that its owner has a valid continuing and non-confusing use.

Though if the name is perfect, there has to be a chance that the .com owner has interests in a similar space?

If the name's just something you like a lot, from what you say I'd not worry about the legal issues, but I'd worry a lot about the diffusion of effort - and I'd probably go find either a .com to use as the primary domain or a .com/.org pair with the .com redirecting.

Either route is going to cost you. But for me, sooner sort things out ahead of launch than risk massive distraction when you're off and running.

share|improve this answer

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.