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Buying Person Name Domain

by lirikh
8 replies
Hey, I had a question. If, for example, I find a popular person name domain available and decide to buy it, can the person with that name claim it from me for free since it's his name??

Thanks.
#buying #domain #person
  • Profile picture of the author SheridanMelrose
    It's property not a protected interest by law so no, if you own it, I don't see why they could take it for free. Some celebs have the same name (like Michelle Willams or Kevin Smith) so who would get it then? Whoever owns it right?
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    Sheridan Melrose

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  • Profile picture of the author Gene Pimentel
    That depends on many factors. If the name is trademarked, yes, the domain can be taken from you, unless you have the financial backing to fight it in court. It also depends on how you use the domain. If you're profiting in anyway from a celebrity name, you're likely going to receive a cease and desist letter.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jesse M
    No, I'm pretty sure you can keep it.
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    • Profile picture of the author davezan
      Originally Posted by Swag View Post

      No, I'm pretty sure you can keep it.
      Originally Posted by Manny Derek View Post

      Certainly the person cannot claim it! You bought the name and you the right to use it.
      Originally Posted by jahangir87 View Post

      I'm not seeing any problem there and I suppose you buy that domain as its avaialble to buy and that means the owner has no more interest in his/her own domain,so you certainly can buy it.
      I'm sorry, but have any of you bothered to read this, much more consider that
      there might be a ring of truth to it?

      Originally Posted by Gene Pimentel View Post

      That depends on many factors. If the name is trademarked, yes, the domain can be taken from you, unless you have the financial backing to fight it in court. It also depends on how you use the domain. If you're profiting in anyway from a celebrity name, you're likely going to receive a cease and desist letter.
      While I understand we're all trying to be helpful here, imagine if you had asked
      that kind of question online, someone said no problem, you took that person's
      word or more for it and went ahead, then actually got into trouble. Good for
      you if you're right, and what will you do if it turns out wrong?

      If anything, OP, at least you got some answers. Ultimately, you just ask your-
      self why you want to register that domain name, and who you are potentially
      dealing with.

      Good luck on your ventures.
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      David

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  • Profile picture of the author blogworker
    If the name is trademarked
    yes, i agree, if it is trademarked, you can not use it. if not, you can certain can, if you think it worth.
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  • Profile picture of the author Manny Derek
    Certainly the person cannot claim it! You bought the name and you the right to use it.
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  • Profile picture of the author jahangir87
    I'm not seeing any problem there and I suppose you buy that domain as its avaialble to buy and that means the owner has no more interest in his/her own domain,so you certainly can buy it.
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  • Profile picture of the author adampowers
    Legal questions like these shouldn't be addressed to the forum and you should definitely never take anyone's legal advice except a lawyer who specializes in certain matters, because they are LIABLE for what they tell you, yet no one on here is LIABLE for what they say.

    With regards to your question, not only can the famous person take the domain from you for FREE, they can sue your pants off and WIN easily since cases like these normally go to court from people who unknowingly make similar mistakes.

    The best example that comes to mind is the Morgan Freeman case where a company owned the domain name morganfreeman dot com and the real Morgan Freeman sued them for the domain name. You could find the case file: HERE

    Even more, Morgan Freeman only trademarked his name AFTER he found out someone else was using his name as their domain name.

    With trademarks and copyrights, it's not required to have a piece of paper that says you own something or it's yours, just as long as you could prove that you're the creator and that it's really yours.

    Just my personal advice would be to direct all your legal questions to an actual lawyer before making a little mistake that could cost you a huge headache.
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