Copyright of a .com

[southernexposur]

Is it necessary to have your .com copyrighted, trademarked, etc?

If you own the domain and continually purchase it, do you have to get a copyright and or trademark?

:sucks:

[gaybucks_chip]

You are not granted any trade rights in the name simply by registering it.

You do establish "first use" of the name if you can prove that the site is live and being used in interstate commerce, and can use that to register for a trademark.

As far as I know, you cannot copyright a name in any case. You can apply for a trademark, but you have to be able to show that trademark in use for a specific period of time, and I think you have to show it in use in multiple media (print, for example) before the mark will be granted.

Also, if others are using the mark (the word you've chosen for your domain) before you started using it, or if it is a common word, you will not be able to get a trademark on it, at least in the US.