Has the domain name you want already been grabbed by another business? Don't worry; you have
options.
Use .net or .org
If you are like most businesses, you want .com at the end of your domain name. However,
many .com names are unavailable, although the same choices may be available with .net or .org.
The availability of .net or .org is probably small consolation to you. E-commerce businesses often
refuse to settle for .net or .org because .com has become, as it was intended to, uniquely
associated with commercial activity. If you are one of these .com holdouts, you'll just need to keep
plugging away with proposed names until a .com version is available.
If, however, your intended activity involves fostering access to the Internet (perhaps as an Internet
service provider) or building a real or virtual organization of some type (as a nonprofit organization,
for example), .net or .org may be just fine. In some cases, it may even be beneficial. Take the
nonprofit national public radio and television entity, the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). PBS,
which derives its credibility and reputation for independent programming and news reporting from
its nonprofit status, chose pbs.org for its domain name. By staying away from .com, PBS sent
the message that the content on its website is non-commercial, which is appealing to those who
support it.
Using .net or .org doesn't necessarily shield you from claims of trademark infringement. For
instance, Amazon.com recently sued Amazon.gr (.gr is for Greece) for trademark infringement.
However, a federal court has ruled that a domain name that ends with .net conveys a noncommercial
purpose, which may reduce the likelihood of customer confusion between a .net site
and a .com site.
New Choices Coming 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 sites
.web, for Web-oriented sites
.arts, for art-related sites
.rec, for recreational sites
.info, for sites providing information services, and
.nom, for sites supported by individuals.
Change the Name Slightly
A domain name is reported as not available only if the exact name is already taken. For instance, if
an availability search tells you that madprophet.com is already taken, you may find that "madprophet.
com" or "madprophets.com" is available. So, if you are not wed to the exact form of your
first proposed domain name, you can experiment with minor variations until you find an acceptable
name that is available.
The fact that a slightly different name is available doesn't mean that you can or should use it,
however. Using a domain name very similar to an existing one may result in trademark
infringement the violation of someone's trademark rights. If you're found to have infringed
someone's trademark, a court could order you to stop using the name and pay money damages to
the other domain name owner. The result would depend on whether:
•the name is actually being used on a commercial website, or
•the close similarity in names would be likely to confuse potential customers.
For example, a potential customer who sets out to access the original madprophet site but who
mistakenly types in a dash will end up at your site. This may be a temporary diversion, or it may
represent the loss of the other site's customer to you. Especially if you are offering competing
goods or services, you will have created the exact type of customer confusion that the trademark
laws have been designed to protect against.
If you're thinking about choosing a domain name that is only a slight alteration of another site's
domain name, on customer confusion first.
Buy the Name
Domain names are bought, sold and auctioned like any other property. If the domain name you
want is being used on an actively maintained commercial website, chances are slim the owner will sell it to you. However, if the name has been reserved but isn't being used, you may be able to get
it for a price you can afford.
How much is a domain name worth? Most domain names don't sell for that much (though some
exceptions are listed in "Big Sellers," below). At GreatDomains.com, the leading online domain
name brokerage house, the average offer price is around $32,000, and the average selling price is
$14,500.
That website provides an interesting discussion of how it ranks and appraises the value of the
domain names it deals in. For a detailed discussion of how this particular brokerage appraises
domain names. The most important factors are:
•the number of characters (the shorter the better)
•the market potential of the business to which the domain name is attached (for example, car.com
is more valuable than camping.com because it reaches a broader market); and
•the use of .com, which is better than .net or .org for a commercial enterprise.
You can buy a domain name in a variety of ways. You can look in online classifieds, contact the
owner directly and make an offer, make a bid on an auction website (ebay.com, for example) or go
through an online domain name broker such as GreatDomains.com.
Big Sellers
Prices of some recent big-money transfers of domain names:
business.com $7.5 million
wallstreet.com $1.03 million
computer.com $500,000
question.com $175,000
internet.com $100,000
drugs.com $823,000
ForSaleByOwner.com $835,000
If you are buying or selling a domain name through an online broker (like GreatDomains.com), the
broker will likely supply all the necessary paperwork to legally transfer the domain name. If you
don't use a broker, you or the other party to the deal must supply the purchase agreement. If it falls
on you to come up with an agreement, consider adapting the sample agreement below.
If you use an online broker, here's how your transaction might work. First, you go to the broker's
website. If you find a domain name you want, you submit an offer to the broker, who forwards your
offer to the seller. The broker then informs you whether your offer has been accepted, rejected or
there is a counteroffer. If your offer has been accepted, the broker mails you a purchase contract
and detailed escrow instructions to sign. You pay no broker fees. The seller pays all the fees.
Beware of Cybersquatters
If the domain name registrant appears eager to sell the name to you and the name is the same or
similar to a mark you're already using, take a moment to reflect. It's now illegal, under federal law,
to traffic in domain names in this manner.
Assert Your Rights As Senior Trademark User
Read the rest of this article 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. | 
Disclaimer