I have been contemplating how to write this post. Frankly, the whole incident saddens me. The purpose of this piece isn’t to point fingers, name-call, or spew any hate. It’s simply to inform you, my fellow bloggers, to protect your blog, which is, in fact, your brand. Claim every domain that includes your brand name and trademark that name ASAP. You never know who or what will haunt you later if you don’t.
When I created Mom Spark back in July 2008, I was a brand new blogger. I wasn’t new to social media, writing, or business, but I had entered a different world altogether. I chose the name “Mom Spark” because it described myself (a mom with a bit of edge) and where I wanted Mom Spark to go. (“sparking” conversations with other moms) I created my .blogspot domain, that was available at the time, and called it a day. I had NO idea the scope of where Mom Spark would go in the following months and when it came time to grow into a “big girl” domain, I had to settle with MomSpark.net. I claimed all of the social networks I could under the name “Mom Spark”, and started attending conferences, all under the name “Mom Spark”. All the while, the .com sat there parked by GoDaddy, doing nothing. (for 3 years it sat)
Last year, I attempted to purchase the .com, but to no avail. (there is more to this story that I don’t wish to share in a blog post) I immediately filed for the trademark “Mom Spark” (which was not claimed) and do, in fact, have that certificate currently hanging in my office. As you can imagine, it was very unsettling to find out that the owner of the .com had redirected the .com to their own business, which is very similar to MomSparkMedia.com. As of this evening, it is no longer redirecting to that site, but does have a banner with a “under construction” message with links to said business. I do have some protection since I own the trademark “Mom Spark”, but attaining the .com is not so easy. The other party must be willing, and in this case, they are not.
Please take my story and protect your brand NOW. Purchase your trademark and buy up different variations of your brand name in domains.
I deeply appreciate the support from the blogging community, I would feel defeated without your love.
added later: You can file your trademark for about $400 on Legalzoom.com. For domains, I recommend GoDaddy.com
because their rates are low and they offer several suggestions for like domains.
About Mom Spark
great article, thanks!!
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I couldn’t agree more Amy, and am looking into this! I am saddened that several of my mom blogger extraordinaires are being affected by this!
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Just know you are so not alone!!!! What does not kill us makes us stronger right?
Candice @ Fashionably Organized´s last [type] ..Rules For The Kids
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Amy Reply:
January 6th, 2011 at 9:17 am
@Candice @ Fashionably Organized, Thank you for all of your help, Candice.
Amy´s last [type] ..Your Blog Is Your Brand- So Trademark & Buy Extra Domains
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Interesting. Now I’m even more scared to start a blog!!
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Amy Reply:
January 6th, 2011 at 9:18 am
@Laura, Don’t be scared! That is the sad part about posts like these, we scare off new bloggers. Just take this information and run with it.
Amy´s last [type] ..Your Blog Is Your Brand- So Trademark & Buy Extra Domains
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I won’t start any project on anything other than a .com. Of course, I bought a .info when I first started…lol
If you can’t afford trademarking, make sure the .com , twitter & Facebook names are open & grab them.
Blommi´s last [type] ..Literati eReader- Review and Giveaway
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I had heard the advice of purchasing all the domains (.net, .com, .org, etc) but never the trademark. Is it expensive to buy a trademark? I’m not sure that I would even know where to start in that process.
I’m sorry you are having to deal with this mess.
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I have no cash to buy any of the trademarks and haven’t checked into the .coms. I wonder, though… Gah. It’s almost too scary to check!
Sorry you’ve had such a hassle!
Tracey – JustAnotherMommyBlog´s last [type] ..The Loyalty of a Child
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This is a great lesson for all! We all need to consider this and support each other.
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Keep your head up dear friend. Know that we stand behind you and support you. <3 Great post, passionate, well-written and everything else that embodies your personality.
Amanda @ High Impact Mom´s last [type] ..Guest Post on Sanctuary Homes- Ice Melting Alternatives
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Amy Reply:
January 6th, 2011 at 9:19 am
@Amanda @ High Impact Mom, Thank you, Amanda. The support means the world to me.
Amy´s last [type] ..Your Blog Is Your Brand- So Trademark & Buy Extra Domains
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That totally sucks. I was wondering what was going on. I’ve already lost the craftylifeshopping.com somebody snatched it up.
Out of curiosity, how much does it cost to trademark???
Jen(CraftyMomof3)´s last [type] ..New Giveaways in January
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Amy Reply:
January 6th, 2011 at 9:19 am
@Jen(CraftyMomof3), Around $400.
Amy´s last [type] ..Your Blog Is Your Brand- So Trademark & Buy Extra Domains
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I have had this on my to do list forever, I can not fathom the stress this caused you. Well written as always!
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You handled this post well.
Though, I’d love to see your next post be about how to trademark 
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I am so sorry, Amy. That really stinks. I’m currently in talks with an attorney to figure out how to protect the brand I’ve been working so hard on for two years. I didn’t buy all the domains I should have, and it has resulted in similar blog names and confusion.
I feel like I’m at a crossroads where I need to go all in and invest money in building and protecting my blog / brand or decide it’s just a hobby and not worry.
Kate @ The Shopping Mama´s last [type] ..Cool- Colorful and Collected with Scout by Bungalow Review Giveaway
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Hi Amy,
For Heather Lopez Enterprises, I did buy all of the different domain extensions. I learned a lot about trademarking when we did super mom. Anyway, since you have your trademark, you can contact ICANN. I think there is a $250 fee, but you can have ICANN make the .com owners relinquish their ownership because they are infringing on your trademark. ICANN made some protections to help those business owners who were basically being blackmailed at exhorbitant prices to get their .com domains in the same name as their business. Hope that helps!
-Heather
Heather Lopez´s last [type] ..When it’s time to bring on help
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LIsa Reply:
January 5th, 2011 at 10:05 am
@Heather Lopez, That’s good to know!
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Amy Reply:
January 6th, 2011 at 9:19 am
@Heather Lopez, That is a great resource, Heather, thank you!
Amy´s last [type] ..Your Blog Is Your Brand- So Trademark & Buy Extra Domains
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consider it done. also been on my ‘to do’ list for ages, and 2011′s the year to actually do it…
thanks, friend.
amy @teachmama´s last [type] ..alphabingo- playing with lowercase letters
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How do you do any of this? Great article!
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Amy Reply:
January 6th, 2011 at 9:20 am
@andrea riegling, For domains, check out GoDaddy.com, for trademark, an easy service is LegalZoom.com.
Amy´s last [type] ..Your Blog Is Your Brand- So Trademark & Buy Extra Domains
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Stand tall my friend – you have worked and inspired many. Only you could take the high road and focus on the lesson that we can (all) learn!
niri´s last [type] ..Getting Back To Reading Magazines! – Win A NOOKColor!
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Hug Amy. My old dot com has someone parked on it. What’s sad is people can reserve your dot com so if you ever don’t renew they park on it and grab it. It’s kind of scary how valuable a domain name can be.
Legal Zoom can help file everything for $600. I look as it as another investment in my business.
Great advice!
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This is an excellent post. Twice I have screwed up in this department. In 2002 when I began blogging on TypePad under the name OnTheFence I failed to secure the .com to it. It was frustrating when I finally wanted to do something with it and couldn’t. I continued to blog and in 2006 gave it up due to a growing a family. Then I started Beautiful Wreck in 2008. I didn’t know if I would stick with blogging. It had changed so much, but I did. By the time I decided I was going to do it for awhile, the .com had already been purchased – like the month before. I actually talked about this on Twitter. I asked the owner if I could buy it and she refused. She does not use the .com but to redirect to another site. I could just kick myself for just not setting out and parking it to begin with. Lesson learned. Twice.
Kim @ Beautiful Wreck´s last [type] ..Kong Thongs and Pajama Jeans – What will you wear for the apocalypse
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This is something I have been thinking about for quite a while now. I have had my domain for 10 years. I have had some sort of website on it for the majority of that time. Now that I really want to get serious about blogging, I feel I need to protect that name. Believe it or not, there are people who have actually heard of my name! LOL
However, there is another blogger out there who uses the same name, only the spelling is changed MINUTELY. I of course, don’t want to step on her toes, but I have been going by this name, and using it online, for a decade.
My husband definitely thinks I should trademark the name. I’ll have to look into that soon…
QponCutie´s last [type] ..The Semi-Annual CVS Beauty Clearance
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Thank you for this valuable information. I do own all the variants for my brand, and would also recommend purchasing your personal name as a .com along with all the variants (which I have also done.)
Cindi @ Moomettes Magnificents´s last [type] ..New Year Resolution or Dream With a Deadline
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That is excellent info for all bloggers and anyone that has a name they want to protect. I have used godaddy and they are excellent. I didn’t know about buying the brand for $400 but now I do. TY
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How does one go about getting a trademark? And what kind of fees are you talking? Ballpark?
Tiffany @MomNom´s last [type] ..Life @ the Zoo Wordsless Wednesday
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Amy Reply:
January 6th, 2011 at 9:21 am
@Tiffany @MomNom, Try Legalzoom.com. Around $400.
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This saddens me. I know you don’t want to trash talk because you’re super duper cool but I know many of your readers are probably working with them without knowing. That just makes me angry.
Naomi´s last [type] ..Wordless Wednesday- The Teenager and The Old Dude
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Amy Reply:
January 6th, 2011 at 9:23 am
@Naomi, Yeah, that is probably the part that hurts the most. We don’t have to treat each other this way in our community. It’s not cool to infringe on another brand, url or not.
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Naomi Reply:
January 6th, 2011 at 2:18 pm
@Amy, Especially when you’re one of the first review communities that most mom bloggers start with. Ahem.
Naomi´s last [type] ..31 Days
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So sorry to hear about this. I feel your pain — just found out that another Parisian blogger is using my blog name, branding, and content. I’m taking steps to resolve the issue amicably, but wow…it’s hard to stay cool-headed when someone has taken your hard work.
Sending positive vibes your way!
La Mom
An American Mom in Paris
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Thanks for the valuable information. I have a news blog and only registered the .com version. I didn’t think about trademarking the name until I came across your post.
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As someone who buys a lot of domains and does a lot of SEO there is no benefit or gain to this. You are attemping to prevent somebody from being found when people are searching for ‘mom spark’. You are also incurring an additional expense, and there is no limit to the number of domains you could buy to try and cover yourself. The only reason you might consider it is if you were going to have completely different websites i.e. momspark.tv is for your live show and momspark.com is for your blog.
It is a better idea to build a strong brand on several online channels and make sure you do good search optimization. Your goal is to make sure you are the first one found when people are searching for your brand. I just googled ‘mom spark’ and there is no question as to who the identity is.
Trademarking is never a bad idea
Patrick
Patrick Allmond´s last [type] ..Big News- Focus AM-FM-Web Radio Show Kicking Off
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Amy Reply:
January 6th, 2011 at 9:41 am
@Patrick Allmond, Thank you, Patrick.
Amy´s last [type] ..Your Blog Is Your Brand- So Trademark & Buy Extra Domains
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Wonderful post Amy! Yes, it is so true we need to protect ourselves and own lots of domains and trademark.
The saddest part of your story is that the problem happened within the mom community – not some random porn site that is trying to siphon your traffic!
I am hoping that soon this will be resolved and that the other party will allow you to purchase your domain. To not do so is simply ridiculous and hurts them far more than it helps them. (Not that they even should be benefiting from siphoning traffic!)
Janice (5 Minutes for Mom)´s last [type] ..10 Things You Need To Know About Baby Sign Language
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Amy Reply:
January 6th, 2011 at 10:42 am
@Janice (5 Minutes for Mom), Thank you, Janice. I agree 100%. It doesn’t help the other party at all. My contacts know me personally and don’t find me from internet searches. I actually call or meet people in person, you know?
Amy´s last [type] ..Your Blog Is Your Brand- So Trademark & Buy Extra Domains
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Hi Amy,
So sorry to hear about your situation. It’s a tough lesson to learn firsthand, but great that you’re sharing your experience to help others.
For your readers who’ve been asking about how to register a trademark, here’s our Trademark Education Center, where they can learn the basics of the process: http://www.legalzoom.com/trademarks-guide/trademarks-service-mark-definition.html.
We also have a number of trademark articles that may be useful in the process: http://www.legalzoom.com/intellectual-property-rights/trademarks.
Hope this is of help to some of you!
-Carrie @ LegalZoom
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I had been considering buying up all the Mama’s Got Flair domains plus any variations like Papa’s Got Flair, Family’s Got Flair, etc. Now that you’ve brought this troublesome situation to light, I’m going to act on it. Thanks for the advice.
We all know you’re the one and only, Amy. I hope the other party sees that this behavior is alienating him or her from a blogging community that admires your work and savvy. A ton of respect would go this person or business’s way if he or she were to step and do the right thing here.
Jessi´s last [type] ..Cinch! Book Review
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It’s scary how quickly this can happen. I remember when I first started, my site name was taken on .blogspot. Luckily, when I chose to buy my .com it was available. When someone searches Mad Hatter Mom they are given my site or something relating to Johnny Depp.. Really a win win situation
Tina´s last [type] ..Mamavation Monday – My first!
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Wow I guess I should be careful and watch for this one too. Really thank you for sharing, at least I know what to expect. Great article!
Sweepstaker´s last [type] ..Moving Don’t Lose The Prizes You Have Won!
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good advice thank yo
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So after reading all this I snagged all the urls but craftylife.com Who ever owns it doesn’t have anything on it and it expires on Jan 29th so maybe I can get that too. Just have to save up for the trademark now!
Jen(Craftymomof3)´s last [type] ..Update
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and I got craftylifeshopping.com. It must have expired in the last month!
Jen(Craftymomof3)´s last [type] ..Update
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Mom Spark Reply:
January 6th, 2011 at 6:04 pm
@Jen(Craftymomof3), That is fabulous! Congrats!
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Jen(Craftymomof3) Reply:
January 6th, 2011 at 6:19 pm
@Mom Spark, Thank you though Amy because if you hadn’t brought this up I wouldn’t have thought to look. I really hope you can acquire your .com. If there is anything I can do to help let me know…a letter…anything. And look for an email from me. i am going to sign up at MomMadeThat in the next week or two.
Jen(Craftymomof3)´s last [type] ..Update
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Thanks so much for the advice! I really appreciate it.
Carly´s last [type] ..Mommy Moment
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ShePosts covered the story: http://sheposts.com/content/trademarking-and-domain-acquisition-cautionary-tale-momspark
Mom Spark´s last [type] ..Your Blog Is Your Brand- So Trademark & Buy Extra Domains
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You can go to knowem dot com and reserve your brand in all the networks. It’s not free, but you can see where your brand is available or do it yourself for free and go take 1 day and sign up for as many as you can.
Also you can check this site namechk dot com
Blanca Stella´s last [type] ..100 Year Old & Feeling Like She’s 58 At The Gym
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Great article. I checked and I need to work on Trade Marking my name this year! thanks for the tips.
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Thanks for sharing your cautionary tale Amy. Hopefully I can acquire all of my names and get them trademarked.
Tamara Chewning´s last [type] ..Yamodo! Party Time Review & Giveaway
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Good, very good information. I’m a little daunted by the whole process of trademarks and buying domains. I need to make 2011 the year I get serious, or more business savvy, about my blog/brand/online persona.
MusingsfromMe´s last [type] ..Join Me in the NewYearNewMe Challenge
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I was just inspired to look and see if the original domain name that I need to switch to wordpress was available. I found information that it was purchase on 11 of jan. Which means it expires TOMORROW! i’m keeping on my toes and hope that they do not renew. THEy just bought it last yr and have been sitting on it. It’s parked! BUT Only until tomorrow.
I’m hoping that I can grab that as soon as it is released. Thanks for the great article. i would of never thought to look had I not stumbled on it.
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One thing I wanted to add: To find out the owner of a domain, simply click on the “get info” link for the domain you’re inquiring.
Mom Spark´s last [type] ..Trademark Discount Code From LegalZoom
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Thanks so much for this kick in the butt! Done and done
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Thanks for the great article. I hadn’t thought about this way of branding.
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