HACKER Q&A
📣 texteller

Working on a side project for AWS, can domain have “AWS” included?


Ask HN: Currently working on a side project for AWS, the product's domain name has the word "aws" included. Will I get any legal issue from Amazon? Is it advisable to have the word "AWS"? Please advise

  👤 BjoernKW Accepted Answer ✓
Their trademark guidelines expressly forbid this ("11. No Combination."): https://aws.amazon.com/trademark-guidelines/

This had us rename our eBook about developing and running Spring Boot applications on AWS from the original working title "AWS 101" to "Stratospheric" (https://stratospheric.dev/ ), which in my opinion is a much better name, too.

👤 QuinnyPig
Technically it runs afoul of their rules. Practically, I started https://www.lastweekinaws.com four and a half years ago, with an alternate "cloud" based domain instead; my thinking was "give me grief, I'll migrate and then start talking about your competition."

I can say that they've never had an issue with my use of it to date, despite my extreme levels of sarcasm.

👤 quickthrower2
IANAL but I wouldn’t risk it. Especially as it’s AWS related stuff (rather than your name is Andrew William Smith or something)

Why not use cloud in place of AWS in the name?

👤 texteller
Thanks all for your kind response and advise, so I finally decided to change the domain name without their name.