Patent Your Domain Name!
Have you ever thought about putting a patent on your domain name? Is your domain name one that describes your business? Is your domain name local or national in nature?
If you answered either yes or no to the above questions you should read further. Domain names are patentable and are done every day. The United States Patent Office will allow you to register your domain name if it fits the following criteria.
A mark comprised of an Internet domain name is registrable as a trademark or service mark only if it functions as an identifier of the source of goods or services. Portions of the uniform resource locator ("URL"), including the beginning, ("http://www.") and the top-level Internet domain name ("TLD") ( e.g., ".com," ".org," ".edu,") function to indicate an address on the World Wide Web, and therefore generally serve no source-indicating function. See TMEP §§1215 et seq. for further information.
The TLD typically signifies the type of entity for whom use of the cyberspace has been reserved. For example, the TLD ".com" signifies to the public that the user of the domain name constitutes a commercial entity, ".edu" signifies an educational institution, ".biz" signifies a business, and ".net" signifies an Internet business.
How specific is your domain name? The more specific the name the better. Take time to make sure that it clearly says what you are doing or offering. The reason for this is because if anyone decides to test your mark or infringe on your product or service your domain name is yours and no one else's. As long as you pay the yearly fee for the domain name it's yours. All over the world there are people who want to knock off products and services and the more protection you have the better.
Domain Names without a registered mark
Even if you don't patent your product and have a great domain name you will have exposure and anyone who tries to take your product, will have a tough time marketing it if you have domain names centered around your products or service. What I mean by this is to sit down and figure out what domain names you want to buy, that will explain your product. Find our what domain name derivatives you can purchase to make sure that no one can infringe on your product or service.
I know many companies that will purchase ten or twenty domain names that vary from good descriptions on the product or service to any misspelled combinations that would be typed into a browser to by pass the search engines. Knowing how to put the combinations together is not a difficult process, but it's time consuming.
For example when we looked at the domain name www.atlantapatent-s.com we wanted to make sure that we got as many regional names as we could. We were trying to cover most of the regions in the US while making sure that we were specific in our information of domains and patents.
You see the main point is to get you to understand the power of getting a specific domain and purchasing them to ward off others in trying to bump you out of the market. To may times someone will see a product and purchase a domain name knowing the company will want to get the domain name later, and then they will pay a premium for the name. There are people who do nothing but buy domain names when they see product taking off and are able to get the name quickly to resell. This is a big business and is why you should purchase as many as you can early on in your infancy process.
Where to get your domain name!
Many domain companies will give you bulk discounts for purchasing several at once. We use www.BestDomainsToday.com for single and bulk purchases. One of the advantages is that you get 24/7 live telephone support from anywhere in the world to answer any questions you might have. When you use a domain company you should use one that understands customer service and will put the customer above everything else.
There are plenty of domain companies and the numbers are growing everyday, so when you choose one you want to make sure that you pick one that you can stay with and not have to hop around to different ones as you purchase your domain names. You want to get great prices and great service! Many profess to give you good service but end up letting you down then you are off to the next one. This can ultimately cause you much aggravation, since every time you move you have to move the domain names, and many companies will fight to keep them and make them difficult to move.
Regional domain names.
Regional marketing is a trend that is becoming more defined on the internet. More and more companies will begin to focus on consumers on a regional level. By marketing regionally you will get a more focused customer since most people on a local level are looking for goods and services through local sources. For example, people don't use the phone book or yellow pages anymore they go to Google and look up local sources through the internet. Regional marketing is getting customers who are not looking globally on the internet for their needs.
If your domain names are regional then you will have a good chance of showing up in the local searches when customers look for companies to buy their goods and services from. A regional domain reflects a local attitude. People like to do business with local companies and also feel more comfortable with local people. What you are looking for is getting people to find you, and read about what you have to offer.
When a person looks for goods and services in Atlanta for example, they will usually put the name Atlanta at the beginning of their search. So if your domain has the name of the region at the beginning of the domain name then you will be searched locally. Now we are not looking to deceive anyone here but simply get exposure for your business.
Domain Names as an Asset.
Each and every business should cover the complete spectrum of domain names and keep them in the business. Domain names become a corporate asset because as your business becomes more popular the domain names gain value. There are people who invest in domain names and then auction them off for great sums of money. There are people who are constantly purchasing domain names and parking them to sell later.
People make huge profits with domain names and can find almost any reason to purchase them. Sometimes they are purchased when there are tragedies that occur like the shooting at Virginia Tech. Purchasing the right domain name can be worth big bucks but for this article having domains representing your business becomes a huge asset. There are many companies that purchase all different variations of a name including the misspellings.
Each and every domain that is purchased can be pointed to your main site and give you massive exposure for your business. Regionally, or Nationally either way a good domain name will be a tremendous marketing tool and well as an asset.
If you want to get good domains at a great price and have incredible tools to run your business with go to www.domainjewells.com and make that your main source of domain purchasing, hosting, email, server usage, and more. It's a one stop place to grow your business. In addition you get 24 hour a day 7 days per week, live telephone assistance wherever you are in the world.
Dr. Raymond Jewell
Host, FinancialFreedomRadio.info
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Raymond Jewell PhD
610-637-4884
Skype: rbjewell
