New York based ParadimeCoins LLC operators of Illness.com has filed for the registration of the matching trademark, ILLNESS.COM.
The mark consists of standard characters, without claim to any particular font style, size, or color. The application was filed with the USPTO offering via the mark “on-line journals, namely, blogs featuring posts, articles and videos related to medical issues.”
The domain Illness.com was last reported as sold in 2015 for a measly $12,742 dollars on NameJet. Source: NameBio.
However, the trademark applicant cites October 15, 2020 as the date of first use of the ILLNESS.COM mark, indicating that perhaps a sale of the domain took place between 2015 and 2020.
Indeed, a new “coming soon” lander appeared in November 2020 at Illness.com. WHOIS changes indicate that the domain Illness.com was indeed transferred to the current registrant on or around August 15, 2020; the transaction most likely took place on Uniregistry.
Why was ILLNESS.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.
