I monitor a bunch of keywords and domain names on my Cotweet account, one of the Twitter applications I use on a regular basis. A couple of days ago, I saw that another Twitter user had mentioned one of my domain names with a ccTLD extension, and because her post was in a different language, I didn’t really understand what she was saying at first.
Instead of translating the Tweet, I decided to type in the domain name she mentioned, and I was surprised to see a fully developed cosmetics company operating on the ccTLD. I am not too concerned about them accusing me of using their brand because my domain name is a fully developed business, they are in another company, and I am not even operating in the same industry.
However, I did some additional research to make sure that my usage started before theirs and that they don’t have any trademarks or pending marks for the term in the US. While this might be unnecessary, I am just doing my due diligence to proactively see what could lie ahead. With the ease of filing a UDRP, I want to make sure I am prepared just in case.
If you own and operate a business on a domain name where other companies are operating on different extensions, you, too should do your due diligence. Ignorance is never a valid defense!
