Domain Name Investment: How far would you invest in domain names? Legality, Principles and Morality

All domainers are different, and we all have different focus, ideas and investments. Some would invest in specific categories, some on certain keywords, some on typos and some even on dead people. It is no wonder that domaining is being branded out there as cyber squatting, but it’s not true for a lot of people who respects and loves the business like we do. So the biggest question is, How far would you invest in domain names?…

… Everyone’s got their own limitations, whether it is category or morality, people have their own stand. As for myself, I’ve invested more on my own brands and more on premium generic domain names. I always stood against typos and other immoral (like dead people) to profit.

I’ve arranged a number of topics that I believe represent different morality and legal level, starting from the normal to the worse:

Brandable Domain names

– Brands of your own –

Having your own brandable domain names are probably the most morally and legally safe (check trademarks first), it gives you an original name and doesn’t conflict with others. It is very popular with lots of web startups these days, building a brand from scratch with their great products and services. I’ve certainly invested in these.

Generic Keyword

– Generic Dictionary word (with or without combination) names –

Keyword rich domain names usually fall under this category, similar to Brandable domain names, it all comes down to researching on the trademark of these domain names. These command high prices and have been one of the most sought after domain names by domainers and companies. I’ve also invested in these, provided that I found no trademarks.

Famous People

– Famous People’s names rise with lots of searches –

This is where the line of morality and legality gets crossed, would you invest in famous people? How would you feel if you worked so hard for your own popularity and reputation and find someone else profiting from you? This is usually the domainers that get sued and challenged by the people whose names they’ve registered. I would definitely not cross this line. Just imagine when Michael Jackson passed away, just see how many registered domain names that are linked to him. I’m sure the Jackson family gonna come after those very soon.

Trademark / Brands

– Brands that are advertised by companies –

Typos and exact brand name keywords are usually the domain names in this category. It again crosses the line further by registering someone else’s brand names and profit from it. Again it’s someone else’s hard work, not unless you registered it before they trademarked it. These are the ones that get threatened and sued by companies that own the trademark and is often taken away from them. It’s big profits with big traffic from the marketing of the brand owner, but be prepared to pay the high price of being sued.

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