As a smart and strategic business owner, you may have a website to market your products and services to prospective customers worldwide. While you may gain the watchful eyes of customers, you may also get the attention of competitors wrongfully attempting to copy your successful branding strategies. For this reason alone, we encourage our clients with websites to register their domain name officially. That way, they may swiftly exercise their legal rights in a domain name dispute. Without further ado, please read on to discover your legal options should you enter a domain name dispute and how a seasoned New Jersey domain name dispute lawyer at The Ingber Law Firm can help you earn a favorable outcome.
Why might I find myself in the middle of a domain name dispute?
Namely, you may find yourself in a domain name dispute if you object to another party’s use of a domain name, or vice versa. For example, another party may register your trademark or service mark as a domain name. Then, they may sell the same or similar products or services as you, allowing them to profit off your mark considerably in bad faith. This may ultimately confuse your prospective customers and convince them that another party’s domain name, products, and/or services are associated with you and your business.
What may make matters worse is if another party intentionally purchases a domain name that uses your mark so that they may later bargain to sell it back to you for a higher price than you would have spent registering for it on your own. To reiterate, the last thing you may want is to be made the accidental victim of such accusations of cybersquatting. So you must do your diligent research beforehand to avoid any potential legal disputes in the future.
What are my legal options if I enter a domain name dispute?
Sadly, you may feel your hand is forced into pursuing a domain name dispute against an alleged cybersquatter. In this case, you may have one of two legal options: arbitration or litigation. For arbitration, you may seek or oppose the ownership of the domain name in question. The possible remedies after this process are either the cancelation or transfer of the domain name in question.
It is always wise to attempt arbitration first, as it is generally quicker and less expensive. But if a resolution cannot be reached, you may have to turn to litigation. These proceedings are typically held in front of a federal court. But you may also go through this process in place of or during arbitration if you have other issues you would like to address, such as trademark infringement, common law unfair competition, dilution, or otherwise.
If you need legal representation urgently, please do not miss another opportunity to schedule an initial consultation with a competent Essex County, New Jersey intellectual property lawyer from The Ingber Law Firm. Contact our firm today.
