15 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
15 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

Domain Name Ownership Rights

by corelle
13 replies
Can a company come along and ask you to give up your domain?

There is a company in China just e-mailed me and said they intend to register their "Net Brand" under the name that is the same as my blog.

My blog, let's call it xyz .com has been registered under my name since 2010.

Now this Chinese company say that they are about to register their net brand under the name "xyz", and they discover that my website is called xyz .com

They want to register xyz under .asia, .co. .com.cn, .net and all other available extensions.

Legally, they cannot just ask me to give up my .com domain, can they?

They said if I have no business interest in Asia or if I don't think the xyz "brand" is important to me, I should give it up. And they "suggest" that I register "xyz" as a company first if I feel the name is important to me.

What they seem to be saying is that if I want to keep xyz .com, I should register the brand name.

My site is an information blog! It's not a company. But I don't want to give it up because I have spent countless hours building it.

My understanding is that a company cannot just ask someone to give up their domain. If they want it, they'll have to offer to pay money to buy it, or it'll continue to be mine.

Even if it's a big company like Apple, if I had already registered Apple .com before they did, Apple would have to BUY Apple .com from me, they cannot just ask me to give it up, can they?

These people are driving me crazy. They sound a little amateurish. But I want to be sure about my rights.
#domain #ownership #rights
  • Profile picture of the author dvduval
    Sounds a little scammy. Are they wanting money?
    Signature
    It is okay to contact me! I have been developing software since 1999, creating many popular products like phpLD.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7500388].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Auzan
    Banned
    [DELETED]
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7500400].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author corelle
      They neither asked me for money nor offered to pay me money.

      They seem to think my blog is a "company" in the traditional sense.

      My website is just an information blog. I can continue to own the .com domain and they can have their .asia, .net etc.

      There shouldn't be any conflict or confusion. The nature of my blog and their business are very different.

      I just want to make sure that they cannot sue me for keeping the .com.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7500447].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Jubu
    I'm pretty sure it's a scam. I believe I heard about this a while ago. I'd just ignore it.
    Signature


    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7500497].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author ringer37
    I just had a company contact me today cause they let one of their client's domains expire and I picked it up for my blog network. Asked me what it would take for them to buy back "their" domain. Would love it if they paid what I asked for!

    As for your situation, I agree with the others, sounds a little scammy, but if they're for real they outta be willing to buy the domain from you, if you're willing to give it up.
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7500519].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author jvreview
    Even if they're a legit company, you don't have to give up your domain. Many businesses don't want to pay to buy the domains they want, so they try to bully people, saying things like "I own the brand" or "I'll sue you" when they should be paying for the domains. Even if they have a trademark, it doesn't automatically mean they can take away the domain. They'll have to pay fees to start a legal process. If they ever become aggressive, you may consult a lawyer.

    Good luck.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7500714].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author draede
      Originally Posted by jvreview View Post

      Even if they're a legit company, you don't have to give up your domain. Many businesses don't want to pay to buy the domains they want, so they try to bully people, saying things like "I own the brand" or "I'll sue you" when they should be paying for the domains. Even if they have a trademark, it doesn't automatically mean they can take away the domain. They'll have to pay fees to start a legal process. If they ever become aggressive, you may consult a lawyer.

      Good luck.
      Perfect example of this: Nissan.com (its not the car company)
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7500821].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author corelle
        Originally Posted by draede View Post

        Perfect example of this: Nissan.com (its not the car company)

        Very interesting case. Though it sounds like Mr. Nissan the computer guy has built a fairly successful computer business under the Nissan name, otherwise he wouldn't have gone into such lengths to fight the lawsuit.

        It was not mentioned, though, whether or not Nissan Motor initially made an offer to Mr. Nissan to buy his .com and .net domain.

        Perhaps Mr. Nissan refused and that led Nissan Motor to play hardball?

        If someone just has a blog about computers, surely all Nissan Motor had to do was to make an offer to buy the domain, the person probably would have accepted it.

        I can't imagine Nissan Motor would go into this kind of trouble if all they had to do is pay the guy a reasonable sum of money, let's say, $250,000. To a company like Nissan Motor, that's just lunch money.

        If someone wants to buy my domain for anything over $50,000, I would take it in a heartbeat!
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7502556].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author davezan
    Originally Posted by corelle View Post

    Legally, they cannot just ask me to give up my .com domain, can they?
    They can up to a point. Essentially, they'll need to prove: a) they've established
    trademark rights, and b) consumers are likely to confuse you with their mark.

    From what you described, though, it sounds like the you-have-to-register-your-
    dot cn-or-whatever-extension-of-your-domain-name notice. Unless you're really
    planning to expand into China or wherever, ignore that.
    Signature

    David

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7504701].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Joey Starkey
    Here it is in a nutshell, They can attempt to take your domain through a process called UDRP (google it).

    But what is in your benefit is you have owned the domain and used it in a legimate manner. Just because the now want to use it gives them no rights. If they decide to Trademark the name, you still had previous ownership.

    Basically they can't take it just beacuse they want it....you are being scammed. You can read more on one of the domain forums or domain blogs. DomainNameWire(.)com is a good one.
    Signature
    The Memphis Gourmet
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7504815].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author JerrickYeoh
    I wonder why they request yo to register it as a business if you still want own the domain name . This mind that you in trouble if you follow their ways because they thought you as new business and might sue you cause using their name and loss your domain name.

    You can just ignore them because this case can be take to court to fight the right of own the domain name .
    Signature
    Cheap .COM and .SG domain name
    Business Web Hosting, Email Hosting, E-commerce Hosting.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7505598].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author GrowMyForumCommunity
    Nope, they can't just ask you to give it up. Even with the proper legal trademarks supplied, they can't take it from you, because it is not theirs to begin with. They must reach a deal/conclusion with you in order for them to legally take it.
    Signature
    Success doesn't come in an instant, just like Rome wasn't built in a day.
    Want to grow your forum? Get help from GrowMyForumCommunity.com
    Order your Free Forum Evaluation Report today.
    Use 10% discount code: Z6L9UTJP8J. With 100% Money Back Guarantee!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7505868].message }}

Trending Topics