by Traverse Legal, reviewed by Enrico Schaefer - December 18, 2004 - d. Domain Name Cybersquatting Law, Lawsuits & Cases
Sixth Circuit finds no trademark violation in post-domain paths
In the case of Interactive Products Corp. v. a2z Mobile Office Solutions, Inc. [PDF], No. 01-3590, the Sixth Circuit has ruled that the use of a registered trademark in the post-domain path of a URL does not violate trademark law because it is unlikely to create customer confusion regarding the origins of the goods offered at the website. There is currently a split of authority among courts concerning trademark infringement claims based on post-domain path uses of trademarks such as www.abscd.com/microsoft/.
The post-domain path of a URL is everything after the domain name, e.g. anything after "nytimes.com" or "lawmeme.org."
Read the opinion here. (Link via How Appealing.) Or, if you're short on time, read a summary of the case.
As a founding partner of Traverse Legal, PLC, he has more than thirty years of experience as an attorney for both established companies and emerging start-ups. His extensive experience includes navigating technology law matters and complex litigation throughout the United States.
This page has been written, edited, and reviewed by a team of legal writers following our comprehensive editorial guidelines. This page was approved by attorney Enrico Schaefer, who has more than 20 years of legal experience as a practicing Business, IP, and Technology Law litigation attorney.
