When running a business, customers have various ways of finding you. In addition to visiting you at your physical location or DM-ing you on social media pages, customers may also find you through your domain name. It may also be the way customers remember you. That raises an important question for growing brands: Can a domain name be trademarked? The short answer is yes. But this is not automatic. Owning a domain and owning a trademark are two different things, and not all domains can be trademarked. In the U.S., a domain name can qualify for trademark protection only if it meets specific legal requirements.

When Can You Trademark a Domain Name?

Registering a domain name by itself does not give you trademark rights. Domain registration only gives you the right to use that web address, not exclusive rights to the name as a brand. If you are seeking trademark protection, you must apply to receive a trademark registration through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

That said, not every domain name qualifies. The USPTO is selective, and for you to trademark a domain, the name has to actually identify your business as the source of goods, not just what you do. Additionally, there are a few key elements that make a domain name trademark-eligible, including:

Distinctiveness

Generic domain names like computers.com or shoes.com cannot be trademarked because they describe an entire category of products rather than a specific business. On the other hand, distinctive or unique names like Etsy.com are strong candidates because they uniquely identify a brand.

Use in Commerce

For a domain name to be eligible for trademark protection, it must be actively used in commerce. What this means is that the website is live and is connected to selling goods or offering services across state lines.

No Confusing Similarity

Your domain name cannot be too similar to an existing registered trademark. For example, a name like amazonn.com would most certainly be rejected as it creates customer confusion with Amazon’s existing trademark.

A Real-World Example: Booking.com

One of the most well-known domain trademark cases involved Booking.com. The USPTO initially rejected the application, arguing that combining a generic term with “.com” didn’t make it distinctive. The case actually went all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2020, the court ruled in favor of Booking.com, holding that a domain name is not automatically rejected because it includes “.com”. What mattered was consumer perception. Since the public recognized Booking.com as a specific brand rather than a general term, it qualified for trademark protection.

This decision clarified that domain names can be protected using trademarks when they function as source identifiers under the Lanham Act.

Managing Domain Name Disputes

Even with a trademark for your brand, domain disputes can and do happen. Cybersquatters often register similar domains or misspellings to divert traffic or demand payment. When this happens, as a trademark owner, you can file a complaint under ICANN’s Uniform Domain Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP). To recover the domain name, you must show the trademark rights, bad-faith registration, and lack of legitimate use by the registrant. Thereafter, you may consider trademarking the domain name for the protection of your business.

Contact the Internet Law Attorneys at Revision Legal

For more information, contact the experienced Internet Law Lawyers at Revision Legal. You can contact us through the form on this page or call (855) 473-8474.