Where do I stand legally?

You will probably want to read up on Cyber-Squatting Law Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As in trademark law, if you are using a similar name in a non-competing market they might not have a legal basis to claim your domain, but representing yourself as part of the company would be a clear violation.

I recall hearing that Ebay automatically sends a cease and desist letter to any new domain name containing ebay, too bad for cafebythEBAY.com

I'm not a lawyer.

But maybe ask for a boatload of cash?



In a professional manner of course.

Couldn't hurt, right?

1. Consult and attorney.
2. Don't ask legal questions seeking conjecture in public forums.

Having said that...

You should probably start negotiating with them right away because it may mean some nice cash in your pocket that you might otherwise miss out on... unless of course the domain is far more valuable to you than their offer in which case you might just hold onto it after consulting an attorney who specializes in trademark law.

According to Alexa Smith - Trademarks effectively confer obligations, as well as rights, on their owners.


When people come to renew their trademarks, if it can be shown that they've knowingly failed to defend breaches of their trademark, they can be declined for renewal.

And that's among the reasons why some companies will relentlessly pursue people who use their trademark in a domain-name, regardless of whether the infringer is "helping them to sell stuff".


To some companies, that has absolutely no relevance at all."

and I agree with TopKat22 - Intellectual property is only as good as the owner is willing to protect their own rights.z"

Thanks for all the comments.

I am well aware this is a forum and not a legal office. There is a lot of knowledgeable people here on the forum and it doesn't hurt to tap into that knowledge. I have no intention of taking anything I read hear as given legal advice.

As I said in my first post I wont be getting lawyers involved and I'm happy to hand over the domain. I just wanted to get a feel for where I stand with my ownership and how much control I may have over the 'compensation' they will offer.

I do appreciate the links that have been provided in the posts and the various perspectives that have been given.

Price negotiation is clearly the best approach.

In any cases you are a bona fide owner of your domain name. There could be issues that concern a trademark. But since they have offered a price, looks like they are willing to resolve this issue according to market relations rules. Otherwise they would have offered to resolve this issue in court.

I think you can surely bargain with them and refuse to accept their offer if it is not satisfactory.

Don't state the domain here (obviously), but can you give us an idea of what we are talking about?

For instance, in the above mentioned cafebythebay.com, there is a fairly clear case to be made in its defense. In contrast, it would be harder to justify ebaycafe.com.

Which is yours more like? Or is it something completely different?

Actually, I think if they have a right to the domain, they likely have the right to any work that was done to it as well.

The big question is does the OP have the right to the domain. Answer that, then any other questions will become clearer.

If its PR3 its worth a lot more to them than any old domain. What did you use the domain for before that? If you had a blog etc on it they can hardly say its cybersquiating as you didnt just buy it to hustle them out of some cash. Just say gimme a grand and you can have it. I was thinking of selling it anyway, seeing as its pr3.

Generic brand name? Isn't that an oxymoron? :p

Other than that, see what Josh said.

If they register trademark in your country, they have rights to take your domain name. For example if Nike registered they brand in Australia and you own anything with the Nike in domain name, they have all right to take it. Just go for what they offering because they will take it anyway, sorry to say that, I've been in situation like this before.

First off, always fight. They know the cost of following through with a lawsuit is WAY more expensive than settling.

Second off, trademarks apply in the SAME INDUSTRY, not other industries. ESPECIALLY if generic and not a blue chip name.

Third off, again, fight. It's cheaper for them to settle.

Start here to be sure that they actually do have a trademark. If they do not, tell them to prove it or go pound sand.

United States Patent and Trademark Office

If they do have one, that does not mean they can automatically take the domain. Many things factor into that. Research the law yourself at

www.findlaw.com/

Or better, get competent legal advice from a licensed attorney. Good Luck

Linktomyworld,

I'll give you a very simple answer.

Contact a domain name lawyer who I know is one of the best in the bus.

Ari Goldberger at ESQwire.com - The Domain Name Law Firm

I know him personally and he offers a free consultation. He's won many udrp cases.

He'll be able to tell you very quickly without a charge if the company who has contacted you has a case. He knows the domain name world and related legal matters inside and out.

I recently did a free consult with an attorney regarding just a traffic case.
He gave me information that saved me a lot of headache and money.

I suspect the same would apply here. You're not being adversarial by consulting a lawyer. Just getting the right information so you can make an informed decision and not blindly stumble on to the wrong path and waive your rights on things.

Right off the bat they say they have intellectual property concerns, when in truth they may have squat.

Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to post.

I've chosen to seek some legal advice as (like many of you have pointed out) this is clearly the smartest approach. I realize I should just have done that from the start but its more about my lack of confidence to do so and not knowing where to go to do it, that has resulted in me posting here on the forum.

I honestly do appreciate the comments people have left and there has been plenty of useful information that has been extremely helpful.

I was pretty confused about what I should do and how I should approach the situation but its pretty clear the only way to be sure of where I stand is to consult a professional.

If the name is generic, and you aren't using it in an area that competes with what they had, etc... I would think you would be free to sell it to them. Competing with them, or selling it to a competitor, at this time probably wouldn't be smart though.

The question is was it good faith, and not an intentional trespass? You seem to indicate you are in the clear with BOTH!

Steve

Nothing is on the domain. Unless your domain says burgerking.com they have no legal right. They probably do have money though to throw you through a loop.

You know I have had many battles through my years on the Internet and have only backed off maybe two times. Once for using the NFL brand name which was a mistake because NFL is in the public domain and another time I can not remember.

I had one legal battle though I was so proud of. Fiverr tried to sue me becaue I own buyagig.com and they said they had the copyrights to gig lmao. You can't copyright a name and if you read there TOS you will see they have a pending patent on it. Its been pending since they have been here though. They do own the name fiverr though. I also own a site called fivergigstar.com and they had a fit with that.

Now how I won. My attorney which I do not have one. I buy prepaid legal for one month when i have problems like this to find out who is in the right and get them to draft me a letter. Costs me about 30 bucks is all, they said gig is in the public domain. The word has been around forever and fivergigstar had no fiverr in it. He drafted the letter and they shut there trap but they did something to me and I won that too. They mailed paypal and told them I was in copyright infringement of the word gig. Paypal shut me down for 45 days. I lost 2,000 and got every penny back.

I do want to ask though is it in the public domain or is it a trademarked name. That makes all the difference, if it is not a proper name or in the dictionary they can do nothing.

Not telling you to take my word for it. Get prepaid legal for 30 bucks to find out.
Then if your right they will draft you a letter or give a phone call, your choice to the company, I always opt for the letter so I have it later and then you can negotiate the price you want for the domain or actually use it to make them mad.

most of that we do it illegal (every person here). they pass so many laws that we all are breaking them. it's really sick and most laws are passed by companies who have made it stop others from making it they are law laver protection of their turf very very evil but those who have power rule and they always say it's for your protection

Kay, get pre-paid legal for one month sometimes you can find a special to waive the activation fee but even if you can not its only about 30 bucks for the first month.

Then pick a attorney to see and call them and set up an appointment. Even if they stick you with a paralegal they still know the law and if not they should ask the attorney.

I have had paralegal about 3 dozen times over 20 years.

It helps me by knowing when to back down and when to stand and fight.

Good Luck.

I was going to let this go and move on, but in the spirit of trying to help people (which, after all, is what I think we all aspire to), I have to address it.

How many of the people in this thread have actually been involved in business litigation?

I thought not. It is a soul-sucking, justice-irrelevant, resource-draining clusterf*ck. I wouldn't wish it on my worst adversary. There is nothing noble or logical about it.

It is a question of who has the most resources and/or endurance, and the only consistent winners are the lawyers.

Large companies have teams of lawyers making good money whose sole purpose is to make sure the company's best interests are always protected. They proactively go out looking for fights, because there is nothing better than a long, protracted legal battle to justify the existence (and paycheck) or a corporate lawyer.

In business, contact with these corporate zombies is probably inevitable. If you are a consumer, however, contact is ill-advised. They can easily outresource you, outmanuever you, outlast you and quash your overall desire to continue on.

There is no better teacher than experience, and until you have been through it a few times, it is easy to play armchair lawyer. You have nothing to lose, nothing to risk.

However, your advice has the potential to lead an unsuspecting consumer directly into conflict with these lawyers, and in most cases that can only lead to the above-mentioned soul-sucking, unbearably stressful existence.

When that is the downside, and the alternative is a (usually free or very cheap) consultation with an IP attorney who knows the stakes, the details, and the likely outcome, how can you advise that consumer otherwise?

The only reason is because you don't have any skin in the game, and you are giving advice on things you are unqualified to give advice on.

In cases like this, only a lawyer can look at the big picture and give the best advice. Alternatively, the OP can try to navigate it on her own. But she does so at the risk of doing or saying something that gives the other side an even stronger case to take the domain from her.

I have said my piece. I think OP is making the right call. I hope she'll come back and update us with more information when she is able.

FYI... I once worked with a consultant that had the domain "clue.com", as his little consulting company was called "Clue Computing". (He still holds that domain, BTW).

Well, it seems that the makers of the "Clue" board game became interested in obtaining the domain name and sent all sorts of threatening letters, created lots of hassle, etc.

You can do Google searches using keywords Clue Computing and Hasbro.. a pretty good summary of the whole thing is at Hasbro v. Clue Computing - The IT Law Wiki

You might also find interesting the comments of the owner of the Clue Computing (Eric Robison), his comments are found in another article about Hasbro -vs- someone that had the domain "dinobot.org"... : http://www.rightwingnews.com/special...s-dinobot-org/

Elmer

When they send you a letter, have you talked to them and clear out why they have sent you this letter. This will help you to make your decision easy. The company does not have the right to take your domain unless you go against their brand. The best way to avoid this conflict is talk to them clearly, if you doesn't want to end your conversation with the lawyers. I think you can only handle the situation, as you can better understand what the problem is. I hope your are not into this violation, all the best.