>With respect to geographical place names, am I allowed to make a
> site
about a city on the other side of the world? The Jury's still out on that one
really. Probably the most defining case will be Barcelona.com which is currently
before the courts and will be decided upon soon; the city of Barcelona is claiming
rights to the name registered by a couple in 1996.
More info here: http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/170366.html
>
If I put a 'for sale' sign on the domain does this destroy any
> claim of
legitimate interest?
It's advisable not to if you're on shaky legal ground. The
WIPO generally favors respondents who actually use the name for a legitimate purpose.
The challenger could use your 'for sale' intentions as evidence of bad faith.
>
Can I protect my domain by registering a trade mark after getting
> the domain?
After-the-fact registration has been shown to be insufficient to
claim rights to a domain name. WIPO (at least) will look at the original registration
date and the dates of trademark usage. Other factors that may be taken into account
include usage (albeit non-registration of a name), its popularity (how well known
it is), and whether the other party would have reasonably heard of the name as a
business entity prior to registration. Sometimes a trademark that is registered but
not actively used may not give the holder rights to a name.
Other evidence that
can be used include what other names a party has registered at the same time, including
the intentions of other names registered. Generic names and place names have historically
been difficult to challenge, but there have been cases where someone's domain record
actually had "This Domain is For Sale" (or similar) in it and this was successfully
used as proof of bad faith.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Dave