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Here is my situation.

  • I have a fairly unique first/last name in the States but it is common in another country. I live in the States.
  • I own a .com, which is my full name. It is an empty page right now.
  • I own a second website where I sell stuff via affiliate marketing.

There is an up-and-coming celebrity from another country with my exact name. Therefore, my name's domain gets ~2K hits per month.

Is there a legal issue if I forward all traffic from my name's domain to my selling stuff website?

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  • I added the trademark tag. Many celebrities trademark their names. So when you use their name in commerce, then trademark protection might be relevant. – Philipp Aug 3 '18 at 12:52
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As long as you are not claiming to be this celebrity, which would be impersonation, then you are not doing anything wrong or illegal. Since it is your own name, you can use it.

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  • 4
    There are several cases, for example, one involving a business known as "Victor's Secret" owned by a Victor, that are quite protective of your right to use your own name, even for commercial purposes, even in the face of a strong trademark of someone else in that name. As long as there is no attempt to deceive, as you note, this use is protected. – ohwilleke Aug 3 '18 at 4:41
  • What about Microsoft vs. Mike Rowe? – Philipp Aug 3 '18 at 12:48

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