Santa Monica, California based Batia Infotech Corporation, operators of the premium domain Marriage.com, have filed for the registration of the matching trademark, MARRIAGE.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 the following services that utilize the applied for mark:
Providing a website featuring blogs and non-downloadable publications in the nature of articles in the field(s) of marriage and mental health
The domain Marriage.com was registered in 1995 and has never been reported as sold. The mark’s application indicates that the mark was used in commerce as early as on September 14, 2015. Historic WHOIS records are hidden by DomainTools, depriving us of a quick look into the past and its original registrant.
Records from Archive.org show that by 1999 the domain Marriage.com was promoting the services of French gift list company, Lafayette Mariage.
Was the domain sold recently?
According to Screenshots.com, the same logo was used as far back as in 2012, before the mark’s listed date of first use. We can safely assume, that Marriage.com has been in the possession of the current registrant since then. Most likely, the company changed name or formed into a new entity, operated by the same registrant or registrants.
Why was MARRIAGE.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.
