registering website as trademark

Midsummer

Registered User
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112
hi - does anyone know what "class" on the trademark form this should go under ?

It's just the name that would be the trademark in the case of a website isn't that correct ?

Many thanks
M
 
What is it on the website you are trademarking?
If it is the website name, then once you have the domain (e.g. abc.com) then no one else can use it, so this may not be necessary.
 
yes just the name - is there a need to register it as a trademark ? If I take the .ie and .com domain.
 
yes just the name - is there a need to register it as a trademark ? If I take the .ie and .com domain.
You register under the business type, if its a food company you register under food etc..
Trademarks are used to protect your brand not your website name.
 
yes just the name - is there a need to register it as a trademark ? If I take the .ie and .com domain.

There is no need to register a trademark in order to protect it as a domain name - the two systems are different. If you have a domain name, no one else can use that domain name, but that won't give it exactly the same protection as a trademark. As you use the domain name, you will build up goodwill in it and may increase the common law rights you have in it which, over time, will give you pseudo trademark rights.

So the question is not whether you need to register the trademark, but whether you want to. If your company name is the same as your trademark and your domain name (e.g. Tesco, tesco.ie) or if your company name is the same as your product, then, from a purely commercial point of view, it may be worth registering the trademark. But if your company name is "Financial Advice Limited" and your domain name is "tax.ie" then I wouldn't bother registering either of those as trademarks - because the value in the brand in that case is automatically made up of the domain name (tax.ie) and not the domain prefix ("tax" - unregisterable if you give tax advice). If the prefix of the domain name is what you consider to be valuable and it's not purely a web-based business, then that makes the case for registering the name as a trademark stronger. That's just my judgment though from a commercial standpoint.

The first portion of your original question (what class) is answered by hhhhhhhh. The second part of your original question can't be answered as stated - you can try to register any name you want as a trademark (you may not be successful depending on the name). Whether that name is part of a domain name is irrelevant. You need to decide whether you want to protect the brand via a domain name AND a trademark.

Sprite
 
Sprite - thanks for that - yes I want to trademark the name only. The product is the website (if that makes sense) which I have registered as a company name as well as the domains. The idea is that the name could be merchandised in some way in the future so I would possibly need a trademark in that case.

So as per my 1st question - I can't find anywhere on the form where just the name is being trademarked - if anyone can help.

Thanks
M

(p.s. it's not finance related).
 
You have a trademark registration form, yes? Isn't there just a place where you fill in what you want to trademark? I'm sorry but I really don't understand when you say there's no place on the form where "just the name is being trademarked". Can you send a link to a blank form?

Sprite
 
Ok - I downloaded form 1 from the Irish Patents office. To register your trademark, insert it below the "Representation of Mark" portion - so if you want to register "Tesco" simply write "Tesco" below that line.

I may be missing something here but it looks very straightforward.

Sprite
 
Maybe I'm missing something but do I not also have to enter a number as to which "class" it is ? That's what I'm asking...
 
Maybe I'm missing something but do I not also have to enter a number as to which "class" it is ? That's what I'm asking...

And you got your answer! I answered your last question to me:

"I can't find anywhere on the form where just the name is being trademarked"

hhhhhhh answered the question about which class you should select. It depends on your business. The lists of classes is here: http://www.patentsoffice.ie/en/trademark_goods.aspx

Sprite