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I've asked this before, but is having a domain name with someone else's business name in it allowed? The answer I was given last time was you can buy it it but

I've asked this before, but is having a domain name with someone else's business name in it allowed? The answer I was given last time was you can buy it it but you might not get to keep it. Still, I can't help but think it would be inevitable legal trouble.

nonethewiser 4y ago
Yeah this definitely seems like some sort of infringement. Or at least likely to attract the concern of SO.
lancefisher 4y ago
It comes down to trademarks. ICANN has a dispute resolution process if someone else registered a domain for which you have an applicable trademark. https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/help/dndr/udrp-en https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/help/dndr/udrp-en This process may vary based on the TLD. For The Channel Islands, you can start here: https://disputes.gg/ https://disputes.gg/ IANAL
primitivesuave 4y ago
If they have the motivation/resources to go through the process, no- even a branding like “staqoverflow” would be infringement if they engage in the same type of activity as the trademark registration.
slyall 4y ago
100% chance that stackoverflow will be sending nasty notes to the author (who appears to live in the US). 100% chance he'll have to take it down or change the name. You really can't use the exact name of the people you are cloning. Even something like "stackrobot" would risky. Safest thing is to not use any words from the original product.
- codetrotter 4y ago
  Call it SObot, as in Stack Overflow Robot, but without using the name “Stack Overflow”.
- _8j50 4y ago
  They don't need to send notes, they can just take it over under cybersquatting laws. Although, that is for US TLDs not .gg.
nkozyra 4y ago
On the other hand, it's a great way to get a contact at SO, assuming anyone other than lawyers finds out about it.
- quickthrower2 4y ago
  One weird tip to get a date!
- throwanem 4y ago
  No one other than lawyers or lawyer accessories is going to represent the company to the domain owner about it, though. Source: Ages ago I had a personal domain based on a longstanding nick that happened to partially coincide with the name of a major motion picture studio. That it was a paralegal who called me said they weren't anxious to take it seriously, and all they were really after was just getting me to say it was nothing to do with them so they had me on record in case I later did make it something to do with them. No big deal, but it wasn't like if I had a treatment burning a hole in my pocket I could've parlayed the conversation into a chance to submit it. And even at that, I doubt this will be anything like so simple and nonadversarial.
  - nkozyra 4y ago
    > No one other than lawyers or lawyer accessories is going to represent the company to the domain owner about it, though. Of course. Here's the plausible chain of events: 1. Someone at the co. reads about this on HN 2. They tell their boss who might tell their boss, etc. 3. It finally gets to someone who is responsible for telling the lawyers. But they also say "hey this is kind of cool. We'll send a C&D, but maybe reach out to see if there's anything interesting there."
    - throwanem 4y ago
      I guess it's not implausible somebody would try to open a nonadversarial conversation simultaneously with sending a C&D, but I will say I've never seen it done that way, and I suspect there's a good reason why not. (Not least because escalating something to counsel, and then having side conversations about it with whoever you just brought to counsel's attention, is a bad idea!) And that's if they see something here they might want to investigate further, which given SO's stance on ML-generated answers up to this point, I tend somewhat to doubt.
idkwhoiam 4y ago
What you're saying is every business name needs to be unique world-wide
- dubcanada 4y ago
  No he’s not saying that. He’s saying you cannot start a company called Apple in Mexico that sells smartphones. There are two components, what you provide as a service and your name. You just cannot do both. But you could start a company called Stack Overflow that sells cookies in Austria. They may still try to sue you but then it comes down to an actual argued case and debates and such. This is just complete copy.
- 0xFF0123 4y ago
  Yes, if it's trademarked and the businesses operate in a similar problem space.
andsoitis 4y ago
they should rename their project to stackunderflow
dubcanada 4y ago
Simple answer is no. They will lose the domain very fast.
quickthrower2 4y ago
Complicated question because it os trademark law. “AppleBakeryChicago” probably doesn’t have to worry about Apple Inc suing them. In the case of this site they should be worried.
renonce 4y ago
The owner of a simple hobby project like this, without SEO or sign-in or whatsoever, probably don’t need to care so much to protect his domain. If StackOverflow asks for his domain he can just give it away and set up the site at a new domain name.

nonethewiser 4y ago

Yeah this definitely seems like some sort of infringement. Or at least likely to attract the concern of SO.

lancefisher 4y ago

It comes down to trademarks. ICANN has a dispute resolution process if someone else registered a domain for which you have an applicable trademark. https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/help/dndr/udrp-en https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/help/dndr/udrp-en This process may vary based on the TLD. For The Channel Islands, you can start here: https://disputes.gg/ https://disputes.gg/ IANAL

primitivesuave 4y ago

If they have the motivation/resources to go through the process, no- even a branding like “staqoverflow” would be infringement if they engage in the same type of activity as the trademark registration.

slyall 4y ago

100% chance that stackoverflow will be sending nasty notes to the author (who appears to live in the US). 100% chance he'll have to take it down or change the name. You really can't use the exact name of the people you are cloning. Even something like "stackrobot" would risky. Safest thing is to not use any words from the original product.

codetrotter 4y ago
Call it SObot, as in Stack Overflow Robot, but without using the name “Stack Overflow”.
_8j50 4y ago
They don't need to send notes, they can just take it over under cybersquatting laws. Although, that is for US TLDs not .gg.

nkozyra 4y ago

On the other hand, it's a great way to get a contact at SO, assuming anyone other than lawyers finds out about it.

quickthrower2 4y ago
One weird tip to get a date!
throwanem 4y ago
No one other than lawyers or lawyer accessories is going to represent the company to the domain owner about it, though. Source: Ages ago I had a personal domain based on a longstanding nick that happened to partially coincide with the name of a major motion picture studio. That it was a paralegal who called me said they weren't anxious to take it seriously, and all they were really after was just getting me to say it was nothing to do with them so they had me on record in case I later did make it something to do with them. No big deal, but it wasn't like if I had a treatment burning a hole in my pocket I could've parlayed the conversation into a chance to submit it. And even at that, I doubt this will be anything like so simple and nonadversarial.
- nkozyra 4y ago
  > No one other than lawyers or lawyer accessories is going to represent the company to the domain owner about it, though. Of course. Here's the plausible chain of events: 1. Someone at the co. reads about this on HN 2. They tell their boss who might tell their boss, etc. 3. It finally gets to someone who is responsible for telling the lawyers. But they also say "hey this is kind of cool. We'll send a C&D, but maybe reach out to see if there's anything interesting there."
  - throwanem 4y ago
    I guess it's not implausible somebody would try to open a nonadversarial conversation simultaneously with sending a C&D, but I will say I've never seen it done that way, and I suspect there's a good reason why not. (Not least because escalating something to counsel, and then having side conversations about it with whoever you just brought to counsel's attention, is a bad idea!) And that's if they see something here they might want to investigate further, which given SO's stance on ML-generated answers up to this point, I tend somewhat to doubt.

idkwhoiam 4y ago

What you're saying is every business name needs to be unique world-wide

dubcanada 4y ago
No he’s not saying that. He’s saying you cannot start a company called Apple in Mexico that sells smartphones. There are two components, what you provide as a service and your name. You just cannot do both. But you could start a company called Stack Overflow that sells cookies in Austria. They may still try to sue you but then it comes down to an actual argued case and debates and such. This is just complete copy.
0xFF0123 4y ago
Yes, if it's trademarked and the businesses operate in a similar problem space.

andsoitis 4y ago

they should rename their project to stackunderflow

dubcanada 4y ago

Simple answer is no. They will lose the domain very fast.

quickthrower2 4y ago

Complicated question because it os trademark law. “AppleBakeryChicago” probably doesn’t have to worry about Apple Inc suing them. In the case of this site they should be worried.

renonce 4y ago

The owner of a simple hobby project like this, without SEO or sign-in or whatsoever, probably don’t need to care so much to protect his domain. If StackOverflow asks for his domain he can just give it away and set up the site at a new domain name.