Company tries to force domain name of one of my ex sites from me

1. 74

   Richieb799posted 12 years ago

   Thats right folks, a company that recently uploaded a site as near as 2 weeks ago believe that because their site name is one letter different than mine, and that they were in the same market that they have a trademark right to force transfer of the name over to them
   However I quit my site around a month a go and they might have trademark to a name they think is derivative of mine, there is no way I could of known of their plans for a site
   ThisisOli wrote a representative email for me proposing that they can buy the domain..
   I'm being careful what I say because they even tracked down an old HP thread where I said I was ending the site

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      IzzyMposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I'm not an expert, you have Oli there for that, but as far as I knew if you register a domain name, it is yours, so long as you pay the annual fee.
      I have never heard of a trademark on a domain name. If it had substantial similarity to a well-known brand, it is surely up to them to have bought all the possible similarities to stop someone using them.
      Offer to sell it to them for $1000. You don't want it, they do. Look on it as danger money for their harassment If they don't want to pay it, get the site up and running again, and compete with them. Cheeky gits!

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      Michael Willisposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Tracked down a forum thread? Now that sounds like they are stalking you? Keep records of that behavior from them for possible legal use also.

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         Richieb799posted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Yeah I thought that was quite scarey

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2. 74

   Richieb799posted 12 years ago

   Yeah they are saying that they have trademark of their site at this site http://www.uspto.gov
   
   on a name of theirs, which ends in an 's' and mine ends in a 'z'
   
   they said if I refuse to transfer it over they will file at the UDRP complaint, even though their site was not up until a month ago, so how could I have copied their idea
   
   Oli believes they will have trouble forcing it from me since the domain no longer competes in the same market, its empty but they want me to take down references on Redgage etc lol

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      IzzyMposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Have you got a .gov website? You do know that .gov sites are government owned?

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3. 74

   Richieb799posted 12 years ago

   no it was .com I will try and see if he offers me money for it, he said 'they aren't obliged to offer me anything for it but they will pay me $25 as a good will gesture' lol

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      IzzyMposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Pity you didn't put this thread in the Sandpit - I believe it is more private there, and you are being stalked.
      
      Sorry the way you wrote your last post it was as if that government patent office was stalking you.
      
      So it's not, it's another entity.
      
      I wouldn't like this if I were you either. Their manner is almost threatening, but it's your domain to do what you want with.

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   WryLiltposted 12 years ago

   Just jumping in about brand names. It was mentioned above there is no trademark on brand names - incorrect. If you use the words "coca cola" or something obviously well branded you can lose the site if it's on the same topic as the brand name.

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      Richieb799posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I had a similar name to the one they had registered by coincidence and their domain was empty(according to cache) up until a month ago so how would I have known of his plans?

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         WryLiltposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Sorry that post was aimed at IzzyM's comment. As for your domain name if it's a different product it shouldn't be an issue and I reckon it has no legal standing.

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            Richieb799posted 12 years agoin reply to this

            It was a similar service around a month ago, before they even put their site up, but if you visit it now you get a blank page

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   IzzyMposted 12 years ago

   This site may be of interest to you, Richie, in deciding your next move http://www.chillingeffects.org/domain/faq.cgi

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      Richieb799posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I had a look at that site, its interesting

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   Eric Graudinsposted 12 years ago

   From what you have said, it would appear that they can  have the domain name assigned to them if they pursue it.
   
   And any attempt at making a profit on the original cost of the domain name could be considered cybersquatting, and may not go well for you.
   
   The fact that they did not have a website up is irrelevant.
   A trademark is a very strong trump card.
   
   Go and see a trademark lawyer for some proper advice if this is important to you.
   
   regards,
   Eric G.

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      Richieb799posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      well I just got an email from Ryan Kett and he believes they have no right to it because it is a completely different word. They want it for another reason but I don't want to talk in forum now in case they stalk me again

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         Eric Graudinsposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         It's entirely up to you whose advice you choose to follow :-)
         Good luck. I've said all I intend to.

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   Cheeky Girlposted 12 years ago

   Hummm, let me see, so if I decide to set up a business and call it Mac Donaldz, I am entitled to get Mad Donalds to yield and sell their site cos I could lose money or business or whatever? All over an "Z" or an "S" ? Who was first to register their domain? That is the first thing a judge in Court would ask. That would be you. So if you were to hypothetically register your domain as a registered and protected domain and trademark or whatever, they could do what exactly?
   
   Can they prove the words are the same? Z and S are very tentative. I am British and every damn time I write something on the web with words that end in an "S", usually come up as mis-spelled as they should have a "Z" in it. Words like Specialise / specialize. That is how tentative the issue can get. I am okay, I'm not gonna sue the Spellchecker on my laptop, but these companies have to realise / realize that just because because they came second, they should not threaten you just so they can get in front of you. Kind of sounds like harassment to me...and if they intimated that they are reading every word you write on the web about anything, that could also be harassment...
   
   I'm just saying...!

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   Eric Graudinsposted 12 years ago

   Trademark law is pretty well established, and some decisions about it fly in the face of common sense.
   
   In Australia, the long sheepskin boots worn by surfers and hippies have been called Ugg boots forever.
   They are an Aussie institution.
   
   Hundreds of companies made and sold Ugg Boots.
   
   But nobody had thought to trademark the name.
   Until an American company did so, and prevented everyone else from using the term Ugg Boots.
   Read a potted history here.
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ugg_boots
   
   Crazy? Sure. Then so is a lot of legal stuff.

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