Choosing a domain name for your business may seem like an easy thing until you are faced with legal action for right infringement. Therefore, to avoid such from happening you need to perform some legal considerations before choosing your business domain name.
In this age, it is common for every business to have a website that will create an online presence which is aimed at boosting sales and creating brand awareness.
The norm in choosing a business name is using the existing brand name of a business or a name that tells what your business is all about.
However, it’s also important that you choose your domain name carefully so that your business will go on smoothly without fear. Keep reading to look at these factors that will help you avoid any legal action in future.
Legal considerations to take into account while choosing a domain name for your business
1. Perform due diligence
As stated above, it’s not enough for you to just choose a name because it sounds good, or you just feel like the name will make sense. No- there’s more to it. You need to be sure it’s not a name used by another registered company or business.
If you are in Nigeria, you can check the Nigeria trademark database managed by IPONIGERIA to confirm if the name you want to use is not related to any business bit company in any way.
When you have confirmed that, you can safely go to a domain registrar to verify again if it’s available for purchase.
2. Steer clear of legal infringement
Monday defines copyright infringement basically entails the violation and piracy of an author’s exclusive right through the unauthorized use of a copyrighted work.
It is imperative that creatives differentiate their work from another author of designated works, otherwise the same will amount to an infringement.
You need to make sure your website doesn’t infringe on the copyright of any company’s website domain. For example, if someone decides to use Facebookplus.com as his or her domain name, Facebook can sue the person.
Because people can be deceived to think it’s affiliated with the popular Facebook social media platform.
Therefore, while choosing your website domain name, make sure it doesn’t have a name that could cause any legal action against you in future.
3. Your hosting company is not responsible for any legal action against you
It is also important for you to note that if in any case, legal action is taken against you for legal infringement, your website hosting company will not be held responsible, and your business will suffer the full wrath.
Therefore, try your best to avoid legal infringement by all means through diligent research and possibly by using the services of a legal practitioner.
If you take your time to do the above, you will be more confident.
How to choose a domain name for your business
1. Decide at least 2 names you want to use
The name you want to choose should be closely related to your business or should be the name of your existing business. Try to decide on more than 2 names so that you can easily fall back to other names if your first choice of the domain name is not available.
After deciding a name you want to use, the next thing you are to do is to check for it on the Nigeria trademark database.
2. Choose an easy-to-remember business domain name
The name you chose should be simple and easy to understand so that your potential customers won’t have difficulty remembering it or typing it on their browsers.
Some people think having a big grammatical name in their domain will have a positive impact on their website, but that is far from reality. If something is difficult for people the natural tendency is avoidance.
Therefore, keep your domain name short and simple.
3. Check the availability of the domain names
You need to check the availability of your business domain name on two platforms, ipoNigeria( intellectual property Nigeria) and the domain registrar.
First go to ipoNigeria to confirm the availability of your website to avoid any legal action and secondly, visit a domain registrar to confirm if it’s available.
Since a domain name is unique and can’t be used by more than one person, you need to confirm if it’s available.
4. Choose the right domain extension for your business
The domain extension is the suffix after the web address of a website. For example, www.facebook.com has a .com extension or TLD (top-level domain). There are lots of domain extensions that you can use for your business website.
Some examples are .com, .net, .biz, .business, and .consulting.
You are to pick the one that best describes your business purpose.
Where to buy a domain name for your business
There are a lot of domain registrars on the internet that you can use to buy your domain, one of which is Truehost.
Truehost business domain extensions and price
Truehost popular domain extensions and price
Truehost services domain extensions and price
Truehost shopping domain extensions and price
You can register your business domain names at Truehost at one of the cheapest prices you can find in the market.
Read also: How to Register NG Domain Names for Your Business.
Conclusion
You have now been educated on the legal implications of infringing on the copyright of another business’ website domain. Therefore, you should be careful when it comes to choosing a website domain for your business.
If you are ready to register your business’s domain name today, you can start by visiting Truehost.
Read also: Where To Buy Your Domain Name in Nigeria.