August 10th, 2009 at 12:49am
Under trademark law
What is a Domain? The simplest definition of a computer domain is an Internet location or address. It is simply the permanent location of information on the Internet. Most of today’s domains have recognizable names such as www.schoolofdomains.com or www.mydomainchallenge.com. In reality, the letters making up a domain name are substitutes for long strings of numbers that would be difficult or impossible to remember. Mydomaincallange.com numerically would look something like this 123.345.567. That is called IP address. IP addresses are neither intuitive nor easy to remember. Use of a domain name that replaces a string of meaningless numbers makes it much more memorable and recognizable. When you set up a website, you should choose a domain name that clearly lets visitors know what your site, or domain, is about. The most common domains end in .com, .net, .org or .edu. These last three letters are equivalent to showing the “neighborhood” of the domain. For instance, domains ending in .edu are all related to education and most are schools of some type. Domains ending in .org are often organizations such as non-profits, while .com and .net are used by just about anyone who sets up a domain .However .com is still considered most popular and sought after top level domain.Whether or not you’ve heard the terms “Top-Level Domains” or “TLDs”, you’ve interacted with them every time you type a web address into your web browser. A TLD is the group of letters that follows the final dot in a domain name. For instance, the TLD for Domain.com is “com”. Read more about top level domains. Anyone can register a domain name, but to do this you will need to provide the registration company that is called registrars with some personal details such as name, address, company name and contact information. In most cases, you will register the name for at least one year, and then have to pay a renewal fee to keep beyond that. Your domain name can contain any letters or numbers you want as well as hyphens ( – ) , and can be up to 67 characters long. Your best bet is to find a short but memorable domain name. You will also need to follow current trademark laws to protect both you and other domain owners. Domains should be between 1 to 63 characters long and must not exceed 255 characters. Top-level domains Every domain name ends in a top-level domain (TLD) name, which is always either one of a small list of generic names (three or more characters). The most popular are .com, .net, .org, .info, or a two-character territory code based on ISO-3166. For instance, the territory code for Estonia is .ee, Australia .au, France .fr. Top-level domains are sometimes also called first-level domains. The process of assigning a TLD name is not all that simple. The assigning process is done by the Internet Corporation of Assigned Name and Numbers. This organization is known as ICANN and a name that domain owners see quite often. This is because ICANN operates the DNS root zone and also operates the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority. Yes, ICANN is a very busy organization. They are constantly evaluating whether or not they need to add additional TLDs. But in addition to territory codes, they also issue what is called Generic top-level domains, or gTLDs. These are top-level domain names that anyone in the world can register. But ICANN does make sure that the correct territory codes and gTLDs are being extended to the organizations registering them. And ICANN also reserves special TLDs in order to avoid confusion amongst common domains and purposes on the Internet. These TLDs include .invalid, .example, .test, and .local host. These are only used under very special circumstances and ICANN determines if the circumstance is special enough. If it isn’t, then the individual or company seeking to use one of these top-level domains must use one of the more common domain names. If you want to have a new domain name extension at the end of your web address, you will have to contact ICANN to make the request. However, when it comes to special domains, such as the special TLDs, it is very slim that the request will be approved. That is why you don’t see those domain name extensions that often. Some of them you’ve probably never seen at all. This shows how rare approval is on these TLDs. Why is ICANN so picky about top-level domains? Well, they are because they are responsible for keeping the Internet organized. Without some sort of process put in place, the Internet would become a very unorganized place. Despite how chaotic it may already seem, it is rather organized compared to what it could be. You are able to find the many things that you do and new organizations and individuals are able to obtain valuable domain name because the system is very particular. And until these special TLDs and any others that ICANN develops become necessary, you can expect such domain extensions as .com, .net, .org, and .info to be the most common ones that you find. They get the job done. However, you have to determine which is more appropriate for your purpose. If you’re an organization, you can choose .org. If the .com is taken, you can use the .net. If your site is purely informational, you can choose .info. You get to make that choice.
August 6th, 2009 at 12:47pm
Under trademark law
When you’re ready to launch your web site and you’re trying to select a good domain name, there are many factors that need to be taken into consideration.
Select a Domain Name that Reflects Your Web Site
Above all else, your domain name should reflect what your web site is all about. For example, if your web site is about grooming a dog, you certainly wouldn’t want to select a domain name like ‘mybusinessname.com,’ as this would have nothing to do with your web site’s focus. You would want to select a domain name that tells the world what your web site is all about — something like ‘doggrooming.com.’
Select a Domain Name that Contains Your Web Site’s Keywords
Another consideration of great importance are your keywords. Try to select a domain name that contains your most relevant keyword phrase, as some Search Engines place relevancy on them. A keyword phrase is two or more words that best describe your web page. If your web page is focusing on grooming a dog, your best keyword phrase will be “dog grooming.”
Select a Domain Name that will be Easily Remembered
With millions of web sites accessible on the Internet, it is also very important to select a domain name that will be easily remembered. As in the ‘doggrooming.com’ example above, ‘doggrooming.com’ is very easily remembered, contains the most relevant keyword phrase and describes the web site in explicit detail. It is the ‘perfect’ domain name for this particular web site.
Select the Best Domain Extension
Another consideration of importance is the domain name extension. Although there are many new domain extensions available, dotcom is still the best choice. When typing in a web address, Internet users automatically want to type in a .com extension, as this is the extension that has been embedded into our brains from the start.
Avoid Using Numbers in Your Domain Name
Although you may be tempted to do so, avoid using numbers within your domain name. Including a number within your domain name can cause problems, as when you tell someone your web address, you will continually have to tell them it’s a number and not the word. For example, if you selected a domain name like number1host.com, if you were to tell someone your web address, they may try to type it as ‘numberonehost.com’ instead of ‘number1host.com.’ This type of domain name would cause confusion.
Avoid using Dashes and Underscores in Your Domain Name
Although many people do it, don’t make the same mistake I made when I first started out. Avoid using dashes, underscores or any other characters within your domain name that may cause confusion. When I registered my domain name, Web-Source.net, I actually wanted websource.com; however, it had already been registered. So, I settled for Web-Source.net. Now, when I tell someone my domain name, I have to say it like this: web dash source dot net.
Don’t get me wrong, www.Web-Source.net is now a high traffic web site, but I can only imagine how much traffic I’ve lost over the years due to my domain name. I have received many emails over the years from visitors who had a hard time finding my site. They said they couldn’t remember the domain name and kept wanting to type in websource.com.
Avoid using Abbreviations within Your Domain Name
Although well-known companies, such as IBM, can get away with using abbreviations within their domain name, most companies can’t. As a rule, try to avoid using abbreviations or anything that will be difficult for your visitors to remember. Not only will this cause confusion, but it can also cause your potential visitors to make spelling mistakes when trying to type in your web address.
Avoid using Long Domain Names
Although you may now register long domain names, it’s really not a good idea. I learned this lesson the hard way. I registered ‘www.workfromhomebusinessguide.com’ and the sad thing is … I can’t remember the domain name half the time. How can I expect my potential visitors to remember it? Try to keep your domain name as short as possible. The longer the domain name the harder it is to remember and the more apt your potential visitors are to make a typo when typing it into their browser.
Ensure Your Domain Name is Not a Trademark Infringement
Prior to registering a domain name, you may want to consider searching the Trademark Electronic Search System, http://www.uspto.gov/main/trademarks.htm to ensure your potential domain name isn’t infringing on any trademarks.
Please don’t take this point lightly, as trademark infringement could cost you your entire business. It is your responsibility to ensure that your potential domain name doesn’t infringe on any registered trademarks, as the trademark laws that apply in the hard copy world also apply on the Internet. Any company that registers a trademark has the right to protect their trademark and has the right to notify you that your domain name is infringing upon their trademark.
When you’re ready to begin, create a list of a dozen or more potential domain names, as chances are, your first choice will already be taken. With any luck, one of the domain names on your list will be available.
Take your time and select a quality domain name that will grow with your business. It will be well-worth your time and effort in the long run.
http://www.freerfidcourse.com;rfid how it works
July 19th, 2009 at 04:28pm
Under trademark law
Like if I wanted a site called www.Lori’sClorox.com is that a trademark violation? I’ve looked at the trademark site with a fine tooth comb. Can’t find anything pertaining to the web. But….. since the US trademark only governs the US, how can it govern the web that is worldwide?
July 9th, 2009 at 10:25pm
Under copyright law
Specifically, if I take a book from 1880 (obviously in the public domain), scan it, convert it to PDF, and sell it on Ebay as a PDF, do I have any rights under copyright law that could deter someone from buying that pdf from me and turning right around and selling it themselves?
Put more abstractly, if a text is in the public domain and my only contribution to it is to digitize it from an old book into a pdf or other format, can the result be copyrighted?