isnt "ebay" trademarked?

Come up with a better original name my friend

ebay.ng, ebay.info, ebay.anything will be an infringement on trademark. Ebay-ng is totally different.Just as naira.com is distinct from nairaland.com.
Our company solicitors are ok with this.

In my opinion, ebay-ng would definitely be trademark infringement, since it's an auction site. It's like setting up a software company called "Microsoft Nigeria".

Whichever way u look at it. Its an infringement. The fact that u add ng to it sends only 1 message - nigerian arm. I'm aware such infringements are rampant on the net but it wont do ur business any good. You cant build a unique brand with such a domain.

I suppose what everyone is saying is that ebay have worked to build their name and image, so it wont be fair for you to take advantage of this without any benefit to ebay, pecuniary or otherwise.

I'm afraid your argument does not hold water, when you compare naira.com to nairaland.
Naira is our legal tender, hence, no one single organisation may lay claim to any use of the term.
Except if the federal govt, for security reasons or otherwise, may decide that no businesses should use any name derived from the word 'naira'

To that end, I would agree with everyone else here that if you use your own trade name, and market your concept creatively, the only way is up.

Dont forget that before ebay, there were a few online eAuction sites.

The majority has spoken. Your competitors got a good and unique name: www.whogobuy.com

Did anyone check out the so called "http://www.efton-uk.com/"? . . . such  a nice "site"!?!!?! Little wonder they wanted to leverage on ebay image rather than build their own "wazobi.com".

It is quite myopic of the last poster to make silly remarks. Didn't you see the " UNDER MAINTENANCE, PLEASE REVISIT" banner? Stop being a complete prick. Analyse things before commenting.

Well in my own opinion you still about to tell the whole world that Nigeria is still a country to reckon with when it comes to fraud and related issues. Since you are not getting ebay rights, its better to let the name be and take something more unique and more Nigerian. If truly its for Nigerians, I bet Nigerians will accept it and it does not have to be a rights infringement issue. Besides I see it as a sign of accepting failure because there is a saying and its true that IMITATION IS LIMITATION think about this. Take Nairaland for example its Nigerian by name and Nigerians accept it even those of you in diaspora

Why ebay-ng?, why not some weird nigerian names that will attract attention like www.osomalo.com, www.ojagbagi.com, or www.awoof.com, www.apekanuko.com, e.t.c.

I am sure a uniqueness in name will mean creativity. If you check online, have you heard of www.alibaba.com. Why dont guys who desinged that site call it www,ebay-asia.com.

Be creative man, be creative!

You've got to be kidding me! Ha ha ha ha, what a way to start. Maybe I should start producing "Coka Cola-ng" and make a few billion bucks while i'm at it hee hee, aw! my ribs,

[flash=550,41]http://naija.efton-uk.com/Portals/0/EBAYFLASH.swf[/flash]

Hence, you are declaring that your main business strategy is to infringe on another company's hard earned intellectual property.
You are also stating that, even though 100% of feedback you recieved from the well meaning contributors to this thread had advised you otherwise, you are without giving a single logical reason, forging right ahead.

Finally, you sound dissappointed that ebay will not come after with 'guns blazing'.
I honestly cannot find words to say anything further concerning your business mind, except to wish you all the best in your endeavour.

Haba, an average Nigerians is a genius. We are known to be intelligent so omo no go disgrace man o. I agreed with everyone. Rather than infriging on ebay trademark, create something new for urself. You can even choose one market name in Nigeria such as ojadugbe.com, oyingbomarket.com, go-slow-market.com, cheap-goods-ng.com, or something else.Haba

mingiix: , unlike a lot of blokes that have contributed to this thread, ebay will be wise to the fact that there is no infringement. That will be disappointing.

Hey, come to think of it, maybe it's an attempt at cheap publicity    in a way it could be a business strategy but if you ask me it's way too dubious a method and will further mar the country's image in the international spotlight that we are already in. Paypal already has strong prejudice against Nigeria in particular and eBay as well.

In the long run the "eBay-ng" guys will most probably have to pay a huge fine and maybe serve a prison sentence but then again some lessons are best learnt the hard way by stubborn minded individuals (especially). But to be honest, one of my greatest concerns is not the fact that they will be punished for it, it's that I as a Nigerian will share in the shame and increased prejudice this will create on the international scene that I and many other well meaning Nigerians like Seun, Oleku and many good Nigerians that Post on this site and other sites have been working hard to clean up 

Anyways, I will not wish you the best, I just hope you suffer a quick and silent end without the noise you are probably hoping for and with a huge punishment that you deserve. And also, let me tell a few things about DotNet Nuke which you are obviously using, once the word spreads to the .Net community and the developers there of your illegal use of their hard work there will be no hiding place for you so you might as well not bother really. 

Now then,if u r so very sure as cocky as u sound that u won't be havin any legal issue with the "original" copyright name holders,then great.however i think your business name and strategy comes to me as a disappointment to the original naija breed.in my opinion,u r making a good job of doing what you said your business was set to propagate against-d dubious ways of naija.the intentions behind the name is as shady as it gets my brother.think of the boomerang scenario;laws change,naijas 4 who it is set 4 will definately b disappointed-nairaland pips already are and your legal advisors might just want to make a few bucks.for all it's worth nigerians are far more creative than that,i like d www.awoof.com suggestion.last thing,your business name can't grow larger than the limitation u r setting a its conception.u cant use that name in countries where ebay is registered;the uk,the usa.i sincerely think u r the myopic one.b creative man!it'l only cost a few xtra bucks 4 marketing. I wonder how big u intend to get.

thedean80 ! I have read and assimilated most of the advice and criticisms on this thread. It is important to note that a few of these are outrightly maligned and ill-conceived.
Your last post got me thinking."

you're making a good job of doing what you said your business was set to propagate against-d dubious ways of naija.the intentions behind the name is as shady as it gets my brother.think of the boomerang scenario;laws change,naijas 4 who it is set 4 will definately b disappointed-nairaland pips already are and your legal advisors might just want to make a few bucks

".
Thanks for your contribution.Our team will definitely have a look at this.

ebay-ng

You guys will definitely get sued as ebay have registered their trade mark the world over. Ebay is a multi- billion dollar company that can hire the best lawyers on this planet. Have you go those sorts of funds at your disposal? I think not

Good Luck

BTW Can't you people come up with a much more original name? Whogobuy.com is a very original name and if they can execute properly will be worth a lot of money. Stop being lazy

please, get original
it goes a long way in proving the fact that you're proud of the fact that you're nigerian
it's an identity for nigeria
try registering microsoft-ng.com like someone said or google-ng.com and before you can say jack robinson you're out of money
it's a very good idea, an e-shop for nigerians, but please, check the domain name

A domino effect of criticisms. No one has noticed that the name has changed. Thank you nairalanders!

Well done, you finally listened to the voice of reason. I say, Better late than never!!!!

May I ask, why the name 'Mamaput', Personally, it sounds more like a food business.

Can you pls enlighten us?

Yes, MAMA PUT is buka-ish.
You guys should work harder.
Choosing a name for one's business or venture is in itself a considerable task. Which doesn't seem that you have done.

The Parent company [Efton UK] for the proposed ebay-ng sef, has a dubious sense to it. There is a link that says register. register for what? what do they sell? who are they? no info! what does it cost to put simple "we do this and that" on the homepage? But they are quick to paste telephone numbers on the site. Unless efton is VERY new (as in, created for the purpose of pushing ebay-ng, to garner creditbility), then they ought to have at least a complete webpade for the index.

Sorry man, but i dont believe in your company, or whatever it sells. Just a honest, average smart internet user's prespective.

And if efton is really based in the uk, why doesnt it have a .co.uk TLD?

Guys pls be wary of this site! http://ebayonline.com.ng
It is fraudulent and big scam.
Only God knows how many people have fallen for the scam. I pray nemesis should catch up with him soon.
Their contact number is 08143262278 managed by one Benike Nig Ltd