IPHOUSE & ASSOCIATES provides clients with protecting their copyrights through registration of their works with Copyright Office of Vietnam and offer practical advice to clients o­n the strength and extent of copyright protection for a variety of works including literary, artistic, scientific work as well as computer-related software technology.Our firm’s practice for copyright covers:

• Counselling on the ability to copyright various types of materials;
• Conducting copyright searches;
• Securing copyright registrations before the National Copyright Office
• Negotiating and drafting copyright and/or related right license agreements
• Counselling and enforcing copyrights though negotiation and litigation

OUR SERVICES\Domain Name

The reason for purchasing the domain name will naturally have an influence o­n your choice of domain name, and may inspire sufficient lateral thinking to come up with an unregistered name you can secure.

i)   For “Personal” Use

You’re buying a domain name so that you can have a highly personalized site URL or email address, or simply to impress your friends: “You watched the game o­n TV last night? Well, that’s nothing — I set myself up with my very own domain o­n the Internet…” Alternatively, you might be trying to get o­n the domain name bandwagon that you have heard so much about recently. Whatever the background to your decision, if you’re after a domain name for personal reasons, your choice will probably be based o­n o­ne of the following…

Your name

If you’ve got a very unusual first or last name, you might be able to secure it as a domain. Think about registering your first and last names together (joebloggs.com.vn) or your initial(s) and last name (jbloggs.com.vn; jpbloggs.com.vn).

Note: If you share the same name as a famous person or trademark, then you face the possibility of a lawsuit over the control of a domain name based o­n your name, even though it’s your name! This may sound incredible – frankly, it is pretty amazing – but at the same time there have been well-documented cases of celebrities successfully getting “their” name back from people whose o­nly claim to fame was being born with the same name.

Your hobbies, inclinations or habits

If you are a sports fanatic (sports-mad-guy.com.vn), an ardent role-player with a favorite character (darkwyrm.com.vn) or a heavy sleeper (in-a-daze.com.vn), you’ll probably find it easy to come up with a domain name that fits your interests or habits. If you’re a hacker, you’re likely to find much leaner pickings as so many related names have already been bought up. Nevertheless, focus o­n picking a domain that sounds fun to you – and won’t cause your cheeks to glow red with embarrassment when you share it with your friends in a bar! 

Your taste or lack of it

You might want to register a domain name that makes a religious (godmustdie.com.vn) or personal statement (gunlover.com.vn), or o­ne meant to provoke outrage (eatingbabies.com.vn). At the same time, be aware that the ownership records of a domain name are a matter of public record – in other words, anyone can find out who owns a specific domain name and where they live. Don’t antagonize the wrong people!

ii)  For Corporate use

If you are purchasing o­ne or more domain names o­n behalf of a company, there are several issues that you will need to consider. The domain name may be purchased to protect a product name, brand name or trademark. You may wish to associate a generic word with your product. You may be looking for a domain name for your company’s web site. You may also wish to have o­ne or more dedicated domain names to provide unique e-mail addresses to certain divisions or branches of your business, or for specific products and services. These issues are considered below:

Protecting Trademarks

An extremely topical issue, and currently a highly contentious o­ne, is the protection or lack of it that a trademark or registered brand name affords companies seeking to register a domain name.

There has been a lot of bad press about speculators “hijacking” popular brand names, trademarks and company names, and then holding companies to “virtual ransom” with demands for exorbitant payment in order to cede possession of the domain name.

It would therefore appear to make good commercial sense to register as many domain names as possible, for all combinations of trademarks, brand names and the like, that you would like protected.

Associating a generic word with your product

The commercial benefits of linking a generic word with your product in the minds of potential customers does not need spelling out here. Proctor & Gamble is just o­ne of the companies that has gone for a blanket approach, registering hundreds of generic domain names relating to all aspects of personal hygiene and health care. You may be too late to snap up obvious sites like art.com.vn or car.com.vn, but a little thought into alternative appellations for your products or services may well bear fruit. These alternative domains can be linked easily to your main web site, in order to funnel in more customers.

1. What is a domain name, gTLDs, ccTLDs and gSLDs?
2. Domain Name Characteristics
3. Domain name registration principle
4. Change of Domain name
5. Domain name temporary suspension and cancellation
6. So when I register a domain name, will I then permanently own the name?
7. Do I have to be a Vietnam company or resident to register a domain name?
8. Do I need a website to own a domain name?
9. When I register a domain name, do I get a website too?
10. What can I do with a domain name?
11. Why should I buy a Domain Name?
12. Choosing a right domain name