If we register our startup name as a trademark, can we also get the domain name held by somebody else?

Question

Hi, I would like to know about a trademark-related issue: We recently wanted to trademark our startup's name. There is no other trademark registered for that name. However, a company based in Brazil has registered the .COM domain with the same name and it doesn't look like the domain is for sale. If we registered a trademark for the company name, like STARTUPNAME (TM), could we do anything to get the STARTUPNAME.COM domain? Thanks!

Trademark
CATEGORY
Hong Kong
COUNTRY
Jun 01, 2016
POSTED DATE
4
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Answers: 4 public & 0 private

Ruslan karadzhov
Trademark Agent

You can't use your trademark to go after someone who registered the domain name before you started using the trademark (or before you registered the trademark), but your registered trademark will allow you to successfully go after ANYONE other than the original owner of the domain name. This way, you limit the effective market for the cybersquatter to just one person, yourself. We've used this strategy multiple times, and if nothing else, it adds strength to the negotiating position.

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