Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/19pdf/19-46_8n59.pdf
Page Number: 29.0

Cite as:  591 U. S. ____ (2020) 

11 

BREYER, J., dissenting 

an industry”); cf. Folsom & Teply 1337, n. 79 (noting that
consumers may believe that “no other product is the ‘real
thing’ ”).  These advantages make it harder for distinctively
named businesses to compete. 

Owners  of  generic  domain  names  enjoy  additional  com-
petitive advantages unique to the internet—again, regard-
less  of  trademark  protection.    Most  importantly,  domain
name  ownership  confers  automatic  exclusivity.  Multiple
brick-and-mortar  companies  could  style  themselves  “The
Wine Company,” but there can be only one “wine.com.”  And 
unlike  the  trademark  system,  that  exclusivity  is  world-
wide. 

Generic domains are also easier for consumers to find.  A 
consumer who wants to buy wine online may perform a key-
word  search  and  be  directed  to  “wine.com.”    Or  he  may
simply type “wine.com” into his browser’s address bar, ex-
pecting to find a website selling wine.  See Meystedt 12 (not-
ing “ability to rank higher on search engines” and “ability 
to use existing type-in traffic to generate additional sales”);
see also 915 F. 3d, at 189 (Wynn, J., concurring in part and 
dissenting in part).  The owner of a generic domain name 
enjoys these benefits not because of the quality of her prod-
ucts  or  the  goodwill  of  her  business,  but  because  she  was
fortunate (or savvy) enough to be the first to appropriate a
particularly valuable piece of online real estate. 
  Granting  trademark  protection  to  “generic.com”  marks 
confers additional competitive benefits on their owners by 
allowing them to exclude others from using similar domain 
names.  Federal  registration  would  allow  respondent  to 
threaten trademark lawsuits against competitors using do-
mains 
“eBooking.com,” 
“Booker.com,”  or  “Bookit.com.”    Respondent  says  that  it 
would not do so.  See Tr. of Oral Arg. 55–56.  But other firms 
may prove less restrained.

“Bookings.com,” 

such 

as 

Indeed,  why  would  a  firm  want  to  register  its  domain
name as a trademark unless it wished to extend its area of