The operators of the ultra-premium domain name, Tennis.com, have applied for the registration of the matching mark, TENNIS.COM.
California-based corporation, The Tennis Channel, Inc., filed the application for the mark, citing that “it has become distinctive of the goods/services through the applicant’s substantially exclusive and continuous use of the mark in commerce that the U.S.”
The application was filed with July 10, 1997 as the date of first use, for the following services:
Computer services, namely, providing interactive databases featuring news and information in the field of tennis, travel and fitness; providing a computer database in the nature of a computer bulletin board in the field of tennis.
In this case, although Tennis.com uses a stylized mark with a tennis court icon, the application is for TENNIS.COM. The domain was registered in June of 1996.
Tennis Channel is an American sports-oriented digital cable and satellite television network owned by the Sinclair Television Group subsidiary of the Sinclair Broadcast Group.
Why was the domain name TENNIS.COM applied for as a trademark with 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.
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.
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