What trademark issues pertain to domain names?
We do not give advice on specific trademark questions. If a domain name is available, there is very little to stop somebody from registering it. However it is possible that you may violate a registered trademark if you attempt to use it. Whether or not this is the case depends on how generic the domain name is and how the courts apply the existing trademark law. It would be difficult for any company to sue over a domain name that uses a word from the dictionary, unless it is being used in such a way that it could cause confusion with an existing trademark. The global nature of the Internet makes the issue even more difficult. For example there is Swedish toy manufacturer called Brio and there is also an Italian softdrink producer called Brio. Who has the rights to brio.com? Brio Technology in Palo Alto, California because they got to register the domain first.
