How necessary is it to trademark a domain name? The gist of what I got during my research is that trademarking is just for businesses selling their own products. Should I not worry about trademarking right now and, instead, wait until I actually have my own products to sell? Or could someone come along and trademark the name and take away my site?

A trademark does not have to be a registered trademark to be a legal trademark. It depend on your usage of that trademark and when you started using it. However, registering a trademark allows easier proof of claim if you ever needed to file a suit. The cost to file for a trademark directly with the USPTO would cost between $275 and $375.

Take your name and put a ™ next to it. That is all you have to do to protect your name at this stage. If you are the first person using that name in commerce then you will have superior rights to use the name. If your business is national in scope then you will acquire your trademark rights over a larger geographic area. You can then register your mark later citing your date of first use.

TM is for an unregistered trademark. A registered one uses the ® symbol.

I'm not sure if you could use it for a .com or text name. Usually trademarks are distinct signs or symbols, like the red Coca Cola or some other company logo.

Perhaps what you are looking for instead is registering the word as your company name. Look up "Register Company Name" on the internet.
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