Just got a legal threat and I've done nothing wrong!!

LOL!!
maybe the reply should read: "I am willing to release the domain for $xxx" If you are so inclined you may reach me at xxxxxx"

Good way to flip a site

Well you should know that girls like to over complicate things unnecessarily.

I guess you need to look at this from a positive view. A good lesson learnt on registering domains, and it only cost you $10.

can you tell us what is the domain name?

Don't take legal advice from a forum

Looks like you have somehow purchased someone else's Domain.
Unless the domain in question is an expired one and GoDaddy placed it for sale, this lady may have not been aware of the expiry.
Just a thought.

IANAL - maybe Brian Kindsvater will stop by and give you the real answer. My first reaction is that, unless she has trademarked the name for use in your country then she can do nothing about it. There are billions of businesses around the world and many have the same name.

For example - a colleague and I have trademarked the name of a geo-specific site in the UK and Europe. Doesn't mean that someone can't use the same name elsewhere, though. At least, that's how I understand it.

I have a feeling she's blowing hot air. I'd start by offering to sell her the domain. If she doesn't buy it, then I'd ignore her and see what she does next.

Because if she has a valid case/point, she doesn't have to purchase it from you, she can just take it. My company has done this several times.

Now, whether she has a case or not remains to be seen but I'd just chalk it up to a learning experience and move on. I must say, though, that the fact that she says she will check back for updates makes me think she is just making threats. Otherwise, she would have demanded the domain.

So google her exact domain name and see if it's even online first off - then go do a trademark search for yours.

A trademark doesn't have to be registered to be effective. If someone has a TM on their site and have been actually using the name, they can claim trademark on it and in a dispute will be given first rights in most situations.

I'm starting to wonder if the only search anyone ever does for their domain names is to see if the domain is open or not. Does anyone EVER look for trademarks before they buy a domain? I see people on here sweating over trademarks all the time. It seems like doing that type of due diligence would just be part of a normal business procedure.

You would need to ask a lawyer concerning your domain name and it completely depends on what you planned to do with it. If what you planned to do with it could be confusingly similar to what her company does, there could be a problem. If not, she could have no legal standing.

She does not need a registered trademark to have the trademark. First use in commerce rules apply, but there are many examples of companies having the same name and the same trademark, but in completely different markets.

If you're not particularly attached to the domain sell it to them. It's not worth the hassle. I had the same situation with a PR4 domain I bought and I ended up selling it back to them for a $200 profit. I could have fought it but I would rather spend my time building my business rather than having an argument with some high priced lawyer.

... I'd just say 'Calm ya brow... and jog on!'.

If the name is Trademarked then you may not be able to use it.. although I don't think that you would necessarily need to give the domain away. I knew an intellectual property right lawyer in the UK who had the same problem with a Trademarked brand that 'he' owned. I remember at the time that he said 'they wouldn't be able to do anything with it. I'm not sure whether he was able to legally obtain that domain name?!

If I had an incorporated business with the phrase .com in its name, I sure as heck would have registered the url. I would not be surprised if they send that letter out to anyone who buys a domain but I don't know what the scam is.
When the domain expired, the hosting (if any) might not have. Godaddy would have changed the DNS but google has a cache of the site (if there was one). Check the cache file(i forgot how to do this); if the site had a lot of traffic or high PR I would offer to sell back the name. They probably owned it in the first place.

just ignore , what was he doing when domain name was available?

Probably the woman was just bored at work...and wanted to get some action, thats why he did this. My opinion is: relax dudeeeeee

Hmmm I actually found myself in a similar situation this year, however the company involved essentially purchased the domain from me after making the threat, I ended up with 175 x times what I paid for the domain only a few short months before!

It really should be that if a "Company" has a trademark etc then when registering a domain for that company or trademark they should be required to register ALL INSTANCES AND VARIATIONS or the domain this would save all of these types of issues - in my case the company would have saved themselves over $3k

My advice is to very carefully query her about her company or trademark when you are able to, do some research on her company/trademark and judge for yourself whether she is actually able to make good on her threat, if she then get some legal advice - use a FREE Legal like or website.

If she actually wants to persue it post her emails to you openly on Facebook even her business page if necessary (I did this) she may change her tune and contact you via phone to try and make some arrangement for her to "aquire" the domain to avoid being made to look like a bully or bad guy/gal - in my case I had actually built the website before this company did so when they launched theirs it couldn't outrank my website - it also meant that all their advertising was advertising my site - it was only a content website with adsense on it - but I made something $30 in the space of a few hours when they did their launch!

Anyway just get a feel of how likley they are to carry out their threat - if it seems likely - then get some legal advice - try like in my case to shame them into contacting you to settle as it will likely cost them a lot more to go through the courts just to obtain the name.

Don't Fret over it too much until you get a letter from their lawyer though!

I am not a lawyer but you can check if there is a U.S. trademark here:

Trademark Search - TESS

I've had to go after people violating my trademark and I didn't do it via email. The violator received a letter from my attorney that was sent via registered, receipt requested snail mail. A copy was also sent to their domain registrar asking that the website (which was a complete duplicate of mine) be shutdown. Everyone complied and I had to take no further action.

Jeez this is an interesting case. I do suggest you get some real legal help. That most likely would be your best bet!

Fact: You don't need to do ANYTHING to "register" a trademark OR a copyright. It doesn't need to be listed anywhere, you don't need to pay or fill out a form or do anything whatsoever to get it. For copyrights, simply produce the work and publish it and the copyright is your. For trademark, simply be the first business or organization to use the TM in YOUR INDUSTRY and the TM is yours.

Discard most of the advice here and contact a lawyer. Any business that knew what they were doing would not have sent the email that she sent; especially not without verifying your intent.

sell it to them , or tell them to come after you , because if you arent doing anything with it ( which i would suggest )they cant do anything, then sell it to them for a generous price or they can spend 100* more on legal fees, balls in their court, 99% of the time these emails are just scare tactics

Very interesting thread. Sounds to me like the lady is trying to use scare tactics,
and scam the domain name from you.
Perhaps she really does have a business name that is the same or similar, and didn't renew the domain name in the time allowed, and GoDaddy had the DN and placed it
for sale, and then you purchased it. (obviously)
The lady realised that she has "lost" the DN and wants it back but not pay for it again, as it is "HER" domain.
However, as you and others have pointed out, she could have been a bit more polite.
I agree with the other Warriors and suggest you do indeed contact a legal representative in your local area.

I have had a similar situation, I had a business name for years, and a domain name to suit. I stopped that business and De-registered the business name, but kept the domain name active. I went to re-activate the business name again, and found someone else had registered it. I contacted them and politely enquired if I could have/buy back the name, and they became rather defensive, with a myriad of reasons to not sell/give me the business name.
I advised them of the domain name that I have, and they DEMANDED I GIVE it to THEM, as they have the business name now. I offered to sell the DN to them, but no settlement was forthcoming.
Long story short (at last) They cannot register/use the DN, and I can't use the exact same business name, however, I can register a similar bus., name.
(I have the DN registered under most types of dot com, net, etc.)

OOOOOHH I can be such a b.....

Have a nice day
Mark