Error 1193 — Domain Appears to Infringe on a Trademark or Brand Name
What This Error Means
When adding a new domain or signing up for a hosting account at LaunchCDN, you may see the following:
Error 1193: This domain appears to infringe on a trademark or brand name.
This is an automated check that runs on every new domain submission. It reviews the domain name itself for matches or close variations against a list of well-known trademarks and brand names.
If your domain triggered this error, it's because the domain name contains (or closely resembles) a registered trademark or globally recognised brand.
Why We Run This Check
We run this automated check because:
- Trademark holders actively monitor hosting providers. Hosting domains that infringe on their marks can result in legal demands, abuse complaints, and forced takedowns — often with little warning to the site owner.
- It protects you as well as us. Operating a site on an infringing domain can expose you to UDRP proceedings (which can transfer your domain away), legal action from the trademark holder, and the loss of any traffic, branding, or SEO investment you've put into the domain.
- It catches issues early. Far better to flag this at signup than after you've spent months building a site, only to receive a takedown notice.
Common Reasons This Triggers
The automated check looks for:
- Direct use of a well-known brand name — e.g., domains containing names like Apple, Nike, Disney, Facebook, etc.
- Common typo variations — e.g., domains that are obvious misspellings of known brands (often used for phishing or impersonation).
- Brand name + generic word combinations — e.g., "[brand]deals.com", "[brand]support.com", "buy[brand].com" — these patterns are commonly used for unauthorised resale, phishing, or fan sites that infringe on the trademark.
- Brand name + TLD variations — e.g., the same brand on a less common TLD that's often used for cybersquatting.
The check uses a curated list of known trademarks and is not exhaustive — it focuses on the most heavily protected and commonly abused brands.
What You Can Do
There are two paths forward, depending on your situation.
Option 1: Choose a Different Domain (Recommended)
If your domain genuinely contains a trademark or brand name you don't own, the simplest path is to choose a domain that doesn't include trademarked terms.
This protects you from:
- Cease and desist letters from the trademark holder.
- UDRP proceedings, which can result in your domain being transferred away from you regardless of your intent or how much you've invested in it.
- Account suspensions at any future hosting provider, registrar, payment processor, or advertising platform that runs similar checks.
When choosing an alternative domain:
- Avoid using established brand names, even creatively (e.g., "MyAppleStore" or "NikeFans" still infringe).
- Don't use common misspellings of known brands.
- Search the relevant trademark database (USPTO for US, EUIPO for EU, IP Australia, etc.) for any name you're considering.
- Choose something distinctive — strong brand names are typically invented words or unrelated dictionary words, not modifications of existing brands.
Option 2: Request a Manual Review
If you believe the trigger is a false positive, you can contact support and request manual review. Cases where manual review may succeed include:
- You own the trademark. If the brand name in the domain is yours and you can demonstrate this with trademark registration documentation.
- Authorised use. You have a documented licensing agreement, reseller authorisation, or written permission from the trademark holder.
- Generic or descriptive use. The word that triggered the match is a generic English word that happens to also be a brand name in another industry, and your intended use is clearly unrelated.
- Coincidental similarity. The match is to a brand you've never heard of and your domain has an entirely independent meaning or origin.
To request a review, open a ticket with the following:
- The exact domain name you're trying to use.
- A clear explanation of why you believe the trigger is incorrect.
- Documentation supporting your case — this is essential. Acceptable documentation includes:
- Trademark registration certificates (if you own the mark).
- A reseller or licensing agreement (if you're authorised to use the mark).
- Written permission from the trademark holder.
- Evidence of legitimate, unrelated use of the term.
- The intended purpose of the website.
We'll review the case manually and respond, usually within 1–2 business days.
What Manual Review Will Not Help With
Manual review is for false positives, not workarounds. The following arguments will not result in approval:
- "My site doesn't sell counterfeit products." The trademark check focuses on the domain itself, not site content. Even a site with completely original content can be infringing if its domain contains another company's trademark.
- "I'm just a fan site / review site / informational site." Fan sites and review sites can still infringe on trademarks. Most major brands have specific policies against unauthorised use of their name in domains, regardless of intent. (Note: this differs from referring to the brand within site content, which is generally allowed under fair use — the domain itself is the issue.)
- "I'll redesign the site so it doesn't reference the brand." Changing site content doesn't change the domain. If the domain itself contains the trademark, the issue persists regardless of what the site looks like.
- "The trademark holder hasn't complained yet." The check is preventive. The absence of a complaint doesn't mean one won't arrive — and if it does, it can result in your domain being transferred to the trademark holder.
- "I bought the domain legitimately from a registrar." Registrars don't perform trademark checks at the time of registration. A domain being available for purchase doesn't mean it's free of trademark issues.
- "I'm in a different country to the trademark holder." Most major trademarks are protected internationally through the Madrid Protocol or equivalent treaties. Geographic distance rarely provides protection.
If You've Already Built a Site on the Domain
If you signed up, started building your site, and then received this error (or had your account suspended after a trademark complaint):
- Don't continue building on the existing domain. Doing so increases your risk and your investment loss if forced to move later.
- Decide on a new domain immediately if you don't have grounds for manual review.
- Migrate your site content to the new domain. Site content (text, images, layout) can usually be moved to a non-infringing domain in a day or two with the right tools — see our guide on moving a WordPress site to a new domain.
- Don't redirect from the old domain to the new domain. This can carry over the trademark issue. Let the old domain expire or repurpose it later for unrelated content.
Avoiding This Issue in Future
Before registering any new domain:
- Search the relevant trademark database for the exact term and close variations.
- Search Google for the term — if a major brand appears in the first page of results, that's a strong warning sign.
- Check if the term appears in the dictionary as a generic word — if it does, your case is much stronger than if it's an invented brand name.
- Consult a trademark attorney if your business plan depends on a specific name and you're uncertain about its status. A 30-minute consultation is far cheaper than a UDRP loss or rebrand later.
