California-based Belts.com corporation, operators of the ultra-premium domain name Belts.com, have filed for the registration of the matching trademark, BELTS.COM, with the USPTO.
The application was filed on October 24, 2023, with the mark consisting of the stylized text “BELTS” with a belt forming the shape of the letter “L”. “.COM” is written vertically adjacent to the word “BELTS”.
The mark is applied for “clothing belts” and 9/21/2011 is provided as the date of first use of the mark in interstate commerce.
The domain name Belts.com was registered in 1996, and until the end of 2011 it was registered to a “Chang-Tai Hsiung” before moving to an “Aaron Siegler” in 2012. It is not clear if the latter is still involved with the company.
Applying for the registration of matching marks is an ongoing trend among owners of generic domain names, following the decision by SCOTUS on the Booking.com trademark application.
Since then, dozens of generic domain names have been applied to be registered as trademarks, inclusive of the TLD.
As of January 5th, 2021, BOOKING.COM is a registered trademark with the USPTO.
Will these applications become the new norm? Watch this video from NamesCon Online 2020.
