A frequent question among Internet entrepreneurs is “Can I trademark a domain name?” The answer is yes – in some cases. Generally, the rule is that you can trademark a domain name if it is original and not just a combination of ordinary dictionary words. Legal authority NOLO.com has the following to say on the matter:

 “For instance, while domain names that use common or descriptive terms, such as healthanswers.com or stampfinders.com, may work very well to bring users to a website, they usually do not qualify for much trademark protection.”

 These domains, while catchy and memorable, are really just combinations of ordinary words that all people use. Instead, if you want to trademark your domain, it needs to be distinctive. Here are a few examples of distinctive domain names you are probably familiar with:

 Yahoo.com

Google.com

Microsoft.com

 These domains are all candidates for trademark status because they are not ordinary and common words. Nothing beats speaking to a lawyer, but one of the best informal tests you can run your domain up against is the question, “If someone were to say my domain to another person, would it be very clear that they meant our website?” If the answer is no, your will most likely have a difficult time trademarking that domain.

 Once you have a good, distinct domain in mind, the next step is to make sure that no one else already owns it. Fortunately, the Internet makes this process easy. The simplest way to check if a domain is available is by visiting a domain registrar. One of the better known domain registrars is GoDaddy.com, but you can also access this information at the ICANN website. ICANN is a particularly useful site, because they are in charge of approving all other domain name registrars. Simply type in the domain name you are thinking of and in seconds you will know whether or not it is available.

 It may be that the domain you want is taken, but do not give up hope. It is actually common practice for people to buy potentially desirable domain names in hopes that someone with serious aspirations for that domain will pay more money to own it. If your dream domain is taken, visit WHOIS.net to find out who the owner is. There is a fair chance that whoever owns this domain can be persuaded to sell it to you.

 Now, a word of caution is in order. It can be tempting to buy a domain that you know another company holds trademark rights to and try to extort money out of them before handing it over. This is a dangerous mistake, and there is significant legal precedent for what happens to people who attempt this.

 The reason lies in something called the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Proceeding, or UDRP. When you buy any domain name from any registrar, you agree to attend these proceedings if someone asserts trademark rights over the domain you bought. Every registrar includes this stipulation in their Terms of Service because ICANN mandates it. So for example, if for some reason Sony did not have a website, you could not buy Sony.com and set up your own website there. Sony would be fully able to come after you in court and demand that you give them that domain name.

 An eye-opening e-book called “Your Future in Internet Scams” makes this point clear. Not only is a UDRP proceeding much cheaper and faster than actually suing someone, they tend to favor the trademark holder heavily: you as the domain holder will lose 70% of the time if someone asserts trademark rights over your domain. For this reason it is best to avoid the hassle and just come up with a distinct domain of your own to use.

 In closing, the essential thing to know about trademarking a domain name is that it must be distinct. The more readily people associate your domain with you and not other things, the better chances your domain has of gaining and keeping trademark status.

Every trademark is words that are distinct, which may be logos, pictures, motto, that are well used to identify the product. These trademarks are capable of being protected under the Federal sate and also a law. Such federal registration offers maximum protection, Ideabuyer.com says. According to a research from IdeaBuyer.com, trademark fees are always broken to number of distinct parts namely filing fees, fees of an attorney, and fees for a trademark. Lets now what IdeaBuyer.com advises you about the average cost of attaining a trademark.

Usually it costs roughly around $280-$380 if filed through paper to attain a single trademark sign for a set of products with USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office). Online submission of papers may reduce the cost little extent.

Trademark applications can also be filed through online forms that are present in the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Still extending more, many commercial vendors are available in the market that process and gather the information to place your application in the right place whenever necessary. But this kind of process eventually increases the fee. Those individuals who would like to hire an attorney, normal charges shall be requested.

Filing fee for a single trademark sign in single class may be $325 or $375. Searching of trade mark may take around $400 - $600. If you are round through an attorney, the fees for a trademark opinion shall be around $500-$1000. And further, the fee for Trademark filing application will be from $1000 to $1500.

It is very much important to note that any person can start the trademark application work. It is much important to realize that a single trademark application is filed without making a search. But still a search and opinion is preferred. Further more, a trademark search lets you to gather information if others is using similar trademarks when compared with you. Additional costs are often charged by the government attorney, IdeaBuyer.com says, when he reviews the application and decide whether the trademark can be registered or not.

A trademark is a word, name, symbol, or device that is used in trade with goods to indicate the source of the goods and to distinguish them from the goods of others. A servicemark is the same as a trademark except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than a product. The terms “trademark” and “mark” are commonly used to refer to both trademarks and servicemarks.

Trademark rights may be used to prevent others from using a confusingly similar mark, but not to prevent others from making the same goods or from selling the same goods or services under a clearly different mark. Trademarks which are used in interstate or foreign commerce may be registered with the USPTO. The registration procedure for trademarks and general information concerning trademarks is described on a separate page entitled “Basic Facts about Trademarks”

Source: http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/doc/general/index.html#mark

Copyright is a form of protection provided to the authors of “original works of authorship” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works, both published and unpublished. The 1976 Copyright Act generally gives the owner of copyright the exclusive right to reproduce the copyrighted work, to prepare derivative works, to distribute copies or phonorecords of the copyrighted work, to perform the copyrighted work publicly, or to display the copyrighted work publicly.

The copyright protects the form of expression rather than the subject matter of the writing. For example, a description of a machine could be copyrighted, but this would only prevent others from copying the description; it would not prevent others from writing a description of their own or from making and using the machine. Copyrights are registered by the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress.

One of the basic steps that need to be taken prior to applying for a trademark is doing a search to ensure that there are no existing trademarks in your industry that would conflict with your filing. You can either perform this search by yourself for free or hire an attorney to file the Trademark Registration.

Do It Yourself:

• The USPTO Trademark Search is free:  A little complex but it provides a lot of information along the way if you are patient.

Comperehensive Service Providers We Recommend:

• Legal Zoom
  Legal Zoom has a comprehensive package that includes a comprehensive search and professional filing for only $159 plus the $325 USPTO application fee (Government Fee).   We have had great feedback about this service.  Lawyers generally charge around $1200.00 to create and file a trademark application.
  Others that inventors use include MyCorporation but it seems to be more expensive and less involved. Customers have been recommending