The Trustee of the Drugsite Trust, operators of the generic domain, Drugs.com, have applied for the matching trademark.
The applied for mark is DRUGS.COM and for the following products:
Providing a website featuring news and information relating to pharmaceutical preparations and developments in the pharmaceutical industry; Providing a website that allows users to search for information relating to pharmaceutical preparations, information on human diseases and symptoms, and information on medical treatments
The domain Drugs.com was registered in 1998, presumably after dropping from a previous registration in the 1990s. The current register is in New Zealand, per the trademark’s application.
The application cites July 22, 2001 as the earliest date of use of the applied for DRUGS.COM mark. A second application incorporates a graphic element before the “Drugs.com” part.
Drugs.com has been reported as sold in a 1999 transaction for the sum of $824,000 dollars. Source: NameBio.
Why was DRUGS.COM applied for as a trademark at the USPTO?
It’s 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. We keep track of these applications, and so far none has been decided upon.
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.
