You can’t trademark “sign” for selling signs.
The owners of the category-killer domain names Sign.com and Signs.com have settled a legal battle over their ability to co-exist.
In Janauary 2013 I wrote about how the owner of Sign.com made the bizarre claim that Signs.com was violating its service mark by using the domain Signs.com to sell signs.
An attorney for SA International, owner of Sign.com, sent a cease & desist letter to Signs.com:
The use of the substantially identical and confusing mark, SIGNS.com and the domain address www.signs.com is highly likely to cause confusion and also cause significant dilution of our client’s right to its mark.
Signs.com filed suit against SA International after receiving the cease & desist letter. It asked the judge for declaratory judgment that it wasn’t infringing SA International’s rights.
SA International fired back with its own counterclaims. Judging by the legal docket, both parties spent a lot of money on lawyers over the past 14 months.
As of March 13 this year the parties were still in heated arguments with each other, according to court documents.
Today the parties filed a joint stipulation of dismissal after settling the case. Terms of the settlement are confidential.
As of right now both Sign.com and Signs.com are operating as stores for buying custom-printed signs.
Michael Castello says
In my opinion, Sign.com is a brand that can be used for anything. Signs.com is going to be a business that sells signs; two totally different usages. I always went for the singular with the idea that I had a brand that could reach a greater market. I would like to know the details of this settlement but gather we will have to wait and see what each website offers in the future to understand the terms.
Andrew Allemann says
But if you want to sell signs, I’d argue Signs.com is the better domain.
It’s possible the settlement was that each company would leave each other alone.
Larry says
Agree with that for this type of domain.
Steve says
Michael,
Any info on that Banana sale. Did the buyers reach out to you? What are they going to use it for? It sounded like an awesome deal. Very curious. 🙂
Kassey says
It just shows the importance of registering both the plural and singular form of your domain name, plus any other related names, as a way to protect your business.