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Domain-name headaches
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June 23, 2000: 11:03 a.m. ET
Registering your name doesn't mean you're out of the dot.com woods
By Jane Applegate
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Dear Jane: I recently registered a domain name that I found also belongs to a Swedish company. Since I'm not competing with a Swedish chemical firm, am I OK in keeping and using my name? It's not my fault that they didn't register the dot.com version and just did the dot.se (for Sweden) version.
Before you invest a lot of money in building your brand or Web site, I would suggest contacting the company and finding out if they plan to do business in the U.S. If you have registered the dot.com version of their name, they may want to buy it from you and it will be worth coming up with a new name for your firm.
You have to be very careful about selling domain names. There are new rules and regulations to protect companies from unethical folks called "cyber-squatters," who buy a bunch of names in hopes of selling them back to the rightful owners at a profit. The federal government is cracking down on this practice, so you don't want to get in trouble.
A little communication can go a long way, so contact the Swedish firm and see what they say.
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