First of all let’s spell out what a trademark actually is:

‘A trademark or trade mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or services from those of other entities.’ (Source: Wikipedia)

When choosing a new domain name, being told that it is available by a domain name registrar is not enough to protect you from potential infringement. It is up to you, not the registrar to make the necessary checks to see if any of the ‘keywords’ used in the domain could present a problem in the future.

So what steps should you take?

Firstly, be sensible. There are plenty of well known, big brand names out there – just avoid them ! Put one of these keywords into your domain name & you are simply asking for trouble.

Secondly, you can run some basic checks by visiting the US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO.gov). Their database provides details of both current & pending trademarks.

Once you have found a suitable domain name, the last thing you need to consider is whether to get it protected yourself especially if you are using it to help brand your own business. With an official trademark, you will be in a much stronger legal position should another company try to take you to court.

If you don’t currently have an established brand then I recommend taking a look at one of my other posts which details how to choose a domain name which will boost your chances of achieving good organic search engine traffic to your site.