With the increasing influence of the internet in our lives, the importance of trademarks has gained a new dimension, particularly with respect to domain names. This becomes essential if your customers are going to recognize you and the products or services that you provide solely by your domain name.

A registered domain name helps you in taking legal action against any person, who steals your trademark and tries to induce people into thinking that their goods and services actually are sourced from you and that you are affiliated to their website.

However, you have to do a thorough search for similar domain names in cyberspace before registering your trademark, in order to prevent any infringements. The research must investigate the presence of similar trademarks that have a strong resemblance in appearance, sound or meaning to the domain name you have chosen. Get your trademark registered only after ensuring that it will not give rise to any possible trademark violation claims.

To achieve this, it is always advisable to hire the services of an attorney, particularly a cyber law practitioner who is aware of all the nuances of the trademark laws. This can greatly help in preventing future conflicts related to possible violation.

You must take into consideration the fact that the domain name you are intending to trademark should be more than a mere web address to bring people to your site. It should be an identity that differentiates your services from others.

Other than domain names and their possible violation, keyword infringement is a new menace in cyberspace, wherein original trademarks are lifted and used as keywords in ads put up through MSN, Yahoo, and Google, with the obvious purpose of creating confusion in the minds of consumers.

Using such a keyword is not tantamount to a violation if the online ads lead to boosting sales of the goods or services under the original trademark, but it is a violation if the advertiser starts using it as a weapon for competing against the owner of the genuine trademark.

Discover more about Trademarks Singapore and Industrial design protection.