Someone registered the Australian version of my domain name? How to protect myself?

Dgriff

Hi
I am registered as a sole trader doing business as: my business name. I have registered the .com / .ie / .co.uk / .net / .eu versions of my domain name. Someone else has just registered the .com.au version of the domain and built a website.

Is there anything I should do to protect myself? Is there a way to patent the business name? Would it help if I changed the company status from a sole trader to a limited company? Would that make any difference? Is there any scenario where I would have to cease trading as my business name in the future because they claim the business name? Maybe I'm just being silly but better safe than sorry!

Thanks.

Graham

Dgriff wrote: »

Is there anything I should do to protect myself? Is there a way to patent the business name? Would it help if I changed the company status from a sole trader to a limited company? Would that make any difference? Is there any scenario where I would have to cease trading as my business name in the future because they claim the business name? Maybe I'm just being silly but better safe than sorry!

Thanks.

Does a particularly large part of your business come from Australia?

Forming a Limited company won't protect your name, a Trademark might but for most small businesses you're better off spending the money on building the business.

If your name is particularly/unusually valuable/important to you, go and talk to an IP/Trademark lawyer.

delahuntv

Nothing you can do.
In any case, unless you expect to do business in Oz, there is nothing to worry about and even then the site with "your name" would have to be doing the same thing as you to have any effect whatsoever if you were trading there.

What they can't do is try and make people think they are you or copy you logo or take images from your page.

My own domains - I only have .ie others have all the other versions.

delahuntv

Graham wrote: »

a Trademark might

even then it must be a similar business.


here's an example of how 4 businesses with same name could trade beside each otehr with no issue whatsoever.

Mc Donalds Hamburgers

Mc Donalds Cycles

Mc Donalds Super value

Mc Donalds Pub

However if some set up "Mc Donalds Fish & Chips", I reckon Ronald McDonald might have a problem.

jimmii

If you are doing business in Australia you might have some claim to the name if not then not much you can do. Business trading names really have no protection at all you could copyright it but other than that you have very little come back unless they are blatantly trying to pass themselves off as you.

mneylon

Others have covered most of the salient points ..

Unless the other company is offering a competing service AND is targeting the same market as you it'd be very hard for you to do anything about this

In order to register a .com.au domain name you need to have either a business in Australia or an Australian trademark

In order to challenge the com.au domain name you'd need to have some way of showing that they were infringing on your "rights"

If your business is going to be expanding globally then you probably need to look at registering trademarks in the territories and classes of services / goods that you offer.

A limited company registration does not provide you with trademark rights

And "copyright" has nothing to do with domain names, nor can it be "registered" in Ireland.