You choose the domain name for your services or business that is already registered by some other.
You have several options to resolve this issue:
1) Use some other secondary domain name, e.g. .net or .org
Most business wants .com at the end of their website name. But many .com domain names are already registerd and are not available. You can read here about a domain name structure. Ecommerce websites very often do not want to start business with .net or .org TLS because .com is associated with commercial activity. However, if you need to establish a organization you can use .org or any other sufix.
Be awere that using other domain extensions doesn't protect you from trademark infringement.
New Choices may be available soon
In the not-too-distant future, there should be a greater choice of domain names, including:
.stor for e-commerce sites
.firm for business or professional websites
.web for Web-oriented websites
.arts for art-related websites
.rec for recreational websites
.info for websites providing information services
.nom for websites supported by individuals.
2) Change the Name Slightly
You can see that a domain name is reported as registered only if name already registered with exact letters. E.g. if you check domain name inforbiro.com, it's reported as registered, you can register infor-biro.com or inforbir.com. You are allowed to experiment with variations untill you find an acceptable available website name.
As in the previous case, availability doesn't mean that you should register it. If you use a website name that is similar to an existing one could make you a problem related to trademark infringement, that is the violation of someone's trademark rights.
For example, if a visitor wants to visit our inforbiro.com website and enter a dash by mistake it will come to your infor-biro.com website. This could easily put visitors in confusion especially if you have the simillar products and services as the original site.
3) Buy the Name
Many domain names are bought but not used for running any website. It's obvious that the main intention of the original buyer is to make a profit. If he/she is not a cybersquatter you need to make an offer for purchasing the domain name. There are many sites specialized for domain names trading on Internet so you can search for them.
Another question is how much is a domain name worth?
There are many parameters that could impact domain name price but the final price can be negotiated. Here are the main factors that odredjuju a domain names' price:
- the number of characters (the shorter the better)
- the market potential of the business to which the domain name is attached
- the use of .com, which is better than .net or .org for a commercial enterprise
You can buy a domain name in many ways. You can look in online classifieds, contact the owner directly and make an offer, make a bid on an auction website or go through an online domain name brokers.
If you tradeing domain names through an broker, he or she should provide all paperwork for the domain name transfering. Otherwise, you and the other party are responsible for the purchase agreement.
Beware of Cybersquatters
Cybersquatting means registering someone else's personal or business name as your domain name and it is against US federal law. So take an legal actions against cybersquatters!
4) Use your rights as senior trademark owner
Read the rest of this chapter only if you:
- are already in business,
- use a distinctive name to identify your product or service, and
- want to use that name as your domain name.
Trademark law considers the first entity that used mark in business as the owner. In other words, if you used a name before any other in the market you can block another company or person to use the same mark in the following situations:
- your mark is nationally famous (laws against trademark dilution protect famous marks from use by others, even if there is no customer confusion)
- the use creates a likelihood of customer confusion
- the other user is a "cybersquatter" under federal law.