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Please feel free to use the Article -
"THERE IS MORE TO PROTECTING YOUR BUSINESS'
FUTURE THAN BUYING A DOMAIN NAME!"
in your publication. The article must
be used in its entirety with the
resource box included at the bottom.
Article was written in April, 2000.
Copyright © 2000 by Bill Platt
WORD COUNT: 1023
CHARACTERS: 65 wide
This article may be obtained already formatted
for email, via autoresponder at:
Protecting-Your-Biz@WindstormComputing.com
Though it is not a requirement for publication,
I do ask that as a courtesy, you send a copy of
your publication with the article inside to:
EDITOR @
WINDSTORM COMPUTING.COM.
By matching the publication of an article with
the jump in traffic, it gives me a better idea
of where I might like to do ad swaps or
advertising, in the future. Thank you.
================ BEGIN ARTICLE =================
There Is More To Protecting Your Business'
Future Than Buying a Domain Name!
I bought my own domain name in March of 2000. I was in hog
heaven; I was finally a real business. Now, I am a business
in transition once again.
When I bought my domain name, I checked the Whois network to
make sure my selected name was clear. Much to my relief, it was.
So, I bought the Domain Name, started building my site, and
started promoting like a mad dog. Less than 2 months after
moving to my own domain, I am generating over 6,000 hits each
month to my site.
I have firmly established myself under my domain name, and I
have created an environment on the Internet where I have over
300 links pointing to my dot com site. I worked 16 hours a day
to build the site to its current level and to get all of those
links established. I am now starting to make some decent money
from my website for the first time ever.
And then BAM! It happened.
I received a certified letter in the mail from a lawyer in
Seattle, Washington. It seems a very large company owns the
trademark on one of the words in my domain. I have managed
to negotiate a settlement with them giving me 60 days to
complete my transition, but after that 60 days, I must give
up every single reference to the Trademarked word completely!
Ouch!
In the course of the last few days, I have learned some new
things about protecting your business from a nightmare like
this. Too bad I did not know this information two months ago!
Fortunately, due to this article, you have the opportunity to
not make the mistakes I have made.
Just a few days ago, I would have told you that there are only
three steps involved in getting started as an Internet based
company. The first would have been to find a domain name that
you are comfortable with. The second would have been to visit
http://www.TotalNIC.net/whois.html to do a search to make sure
your selected domain name was open. And the third was to find a
reliable and affordable web host for your domain services.
Of course, that is the simplistic view, because it does not take
into account the design and the construction of your website. It
also does not take into account getting your e-commerce set up or
anything like that. Basically, this simplistic view was the three
steps that you would need to take to get rolling.
But, the events that I have dealt with over the course of the
last few days has changed all of the forever. Now, I will insist
that there are actually six steps in this simplistic view of the
process. Steps four, five and six can be taken care of all in one
website. That website is:
http://www.uspto.gov/web/menu/search.html
Step Four: Learn about the Trademark and Servicemark laws.
Basically, the way I so far understand it, anyone can purchase
a trademark or sevicemark without the aid of an attorney, though
they do recommend that you use an attorney for your own
protection.
Trademarks and Servicemarks are used for product based companies
and service based companies, respectively. In effect, what they
do is to protect a name or a certain word in the eyes of the
business world.
Now, Trademarks and Servicemarks are not entirely unique to
the company who owns them. They also have product and service
categories attached to those "marks". Thus, Nikon could not
have challenged me using the name "F5" because I had "F5"
attached to a computer based business, and they have "F5"
attached to a camera product. Different types of product
and service categories allow more than one company to own
a Trademark or a Servicemark on a particular name.
HINT: Don't trust my understanding of Trademarks and Servicemarks
as the God-honest interpretation. Talk to an attorney who
specializes in this industry for a God-honest interpretation.
The general idea behind these "marks" is to prevent the consumer
from getting confused between two companies offering similar
products with similar names.
Step Five: Visit http://www.uspto.gov/web/menu/search.html
and search for your selected name in one of the Trademark search
engines. If your selected name is "marked" already, then check
the "marks" to see what industry the "mark" represents.
Step Six: If your "mark" is clear, BUY IT! The do-it-yourself
Trademark will cost you a mere $325 for 10 years.
If that seems like a lot of money, then stop to remember me. I
have to give up my domain, and I lose the money I used to
purchase it. Then think about my 16 hour days over the last two
months. Then think about those hundreds of links out there that
will be dead links in less than 60 days. Then think about the
fact that I will be going from 6,000 hits a month to probably
less than a hundred hits in my first month at my new domain.
Then think about all of the work that will be required to move
from one domain to the other, and change all of the references
from my old domain name to my new domain name.
$325 in comparison to all of the time and goodwill I will lose
and have lost on this deal, is just a drop in the bucket of what
it could have saved me.
Let me put this another way for you. Do you remember the Dick and
Jane stories we read when we were kids?
See Bill do his homework.
See Bill buy his domain name.
See Bill in hog heaven.
See Bill work hard.
See Bill work long hours.
See Bill promote the domain like a mad dog.
See Bill do this for two months.
See Bill check his mail.
See Bill read his important looking letter.
See Bill chew his nails.
See Bill lose everything he had worked hard for in a flash.
See Bill eat a bottle of aspirin in one week.
Don't be a Bill.
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RESOURCE BOX:
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Bill Platt owns The Phantom Writers, a company committed to
helping people to establish an Internet presence & promote their
businesses through the use of Free-Reprint Articles, just like
the one you have just finished reading. His article distribution
service can help you deliver your reprint articles to a much larger
audience: http://www.thePhantomWriters.com
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