Discussion:
What is the name of your state? New York
I have acquired a domain name which is a common phrase as well as a documentary movie which was based on events which took place several years ago.
Can this be trademarked by myself, or does the movie company have precedence, even though they never registered the domain nor filed for a trademark of any sort that I can find.
Answer:
What is the name of your state? New York
I have acquired a domain name which is a common phrase as well as a documentary movie which was based on events which took place several years ago.
Can this be trademarked by myself, or does the movie company have precedence, even though they never registered the domain nor filed for a trademark of any sort that I can find. Trademarks do not have to be registered to be enforceable.
You can't just trademark a phrase or logo or whatever -- trademarks are only granted for logos and phrases that are used to identify a product, service, or company in commerce. Unless you plan on selling something, manufacturing something, or providing a service, you will not be able to obtain trademarl protections.
Finally, a common phrase is probably the most difficult type of mark to trademark anyway. Talk with a local trademark attorney if you still want to look into this further -- based on other facts you haven't presented here, maybe you do have something trademarkable.