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Ask HN: is it safe to have ".net" in a product name (considering MS's .NET)?

7 points by mojuba ↗ HN
This is going to be a commercial product, something like "Orange.net" as an example, and I'm thinking about acquiring the corresponding domain name. It's going to be a web-based application, both hosted and for intranet use.

My main concern is a possible clash with Microsoft's .NET and their family of products that end with ".NET". How safe is it to have a name/trademark that ends with, say, lowercase ".net"?

Ours is a UNIX-based product and has nothing to do with Windows/.NET technologies anyway. The first part of the name won't clash with any other trademark in the software industry.

Thank you for your answers.

6 comments

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harmonik
There are several applications with ".NET" in the name.. Many of them seem to use the this moniker because they are built using .NET.. (duh)

http://www.microsoft.com/about/legal/en/us/IntellectualPrope... seems to give some advice on this topic for .NET framework related apps.

But, as far as I can tell, "(.Net logo)" is their only registered trademark concerning .NET. you can see a list of their trademarks here: http://www.microsoft.com/About/Legal/EN/US/IntellectualPrope...

I'd consult with a lawyer first, but I think you're good to go. There are many apps and websites that have ".net" in their name, and the .net domain predates Microsoft's framework by quite a bit.

mojuba
Thanks, that clears the question up a bit.

It would be interesting to find out if those apps and services existed before MS came out with .NET. Obviously pre-existing ones are a lot safer in this regard.

I just thought that Microsoft has essentially hijacked the dot-net syllable, even though it belongs to everyone in principle, and even if it's safe to use in trademarks. Their .NET products are now so ubiquitous and well promoted that a computer/network product with .net in the name would very likely be associated with Microsoft in users' minds when they first see or hear about it.

harmonik
I agree with you somewhat. There seems to be a divide between the cases of the text. Since Microsoft's framework is named in all upper-case.. it seems to be the convention for .NET framework related apps/companies. If a company was named "Orange.net," I wouldn't think they were related to MS or .NET.

There are a lot of companies and products that use this name... I'm sure you've researched it a bit, I can think of about 5 off the top of my head. My guess is as long as you aren't a threat to Microsoft's income.. you'll be just fine.

imp
You really need a trademark lawyer to do a search and review of that name. Don't trick yourself into thinking you'll be okay without getting a qualified opinion. I'm sure MS has tons of filed trademarks, and until you get a trained person to review specifically what MS and others have trademarked, how their claims are worded, how broadly their mark can be applied, etc. I went through this process with a trademark lawyer, and came away knowing a lot more than when I went into it. If this product/company is worth anything to you, then spend a couple thousand and get the name cleared and in the process you'll also learn a lot for future projects.
anigbrowl
Ask a trademark lawyer of course, but given the existence of .net as a domain I'd guess you're relatively safe. The only problem I can foresee is if your application were a software development tool, then it would be hard to argue you weren't referencing MS.