Classmates.com going after me for trademark. What to do?

This thread is interesting and its 2:30AM here sitting and reading this whole thread.
Guys what if he changes his content of his website :
classmates-forum.com,class-mates-forums.com

See if he host something that doesn't relate to classmate.com,does he have chances to win the case.
What do you think mjewel ?
It is true that it would be costing around tons of dollars for him to win.


If he host nothing on that domain name and keep the domain name will it work out.
In this situation i would have contacted my local media and press and would have generated followers behind me and fucked the company.
See there are 90% chances of loosing his domain name so why not fuck the company, m i right.
-> Fuck b4 u pay

My mind cracked because they didn't ask anything to classmatesguy and directly gone for transferring domain.
Keep my words dude if you are sure you will loose domain then fuck the company.

 

Did you even read the entire thread, especially the first post?

What would you suggest would be a good, non-infringing use of a domain called classmates-forum? You understand that classmates.com doesn't want to use the domain, they are just doing as they are legally required to do to protect their trademark.

 

ok..ok i understand i read first post.That means...
It has been clarified that he have no choices left !

It is also the mistake of this guy that he have used both trademarks in his website.eg Classmates and Classmate connections

What would you do if you were him?
any thing that can help the guy ?

 

This is a joke. The word "classmates" is generic. I know that the owner of game.co.uk lost his case but that is rare. How the hell can they claim a generic? This is BS. Let them try and take it to WIPO.

 

Classmates could have sued him without even sending a letter. They did send a letter and when the owner didn't comply, they filed a WIPO to get the domain. Since they had already contacted the owner, they really had no other choice than to take action against the domain as they now couldn't claim they didn't know about it.

I personally think the domains usage was infringing upon the classmates trademark usage according to the law. I don't think there is anything that can be done to keep the domain - especially without spending a lot of money to fight the WIPO (and 85% of cases are successful).

The owner likely isn't even going to respond to the WIPO and the domain will be turned over to classmates.com.

Before registering any domain, people should spend some time reading about trademarks and what can be considered infringement. The simple rule is: If someone else used the name before you, for a particular type of usage, and is still using it, then you should stay away. Don't try to ride the success of someone else. Classmates may be a generic term, and they don't "own" the word exclusively, but they do own rights to use classmates for a particular type of usage - just like Apple owns the rights to sell computers under that "generic" dictionary word.

 

Op - if you're reading this still you need to point out that the complainant offered you money for the domain. This is actually a sign to the arbitrators that they wanted the domain and didnt believe it to be their trademark.

Whoever is telling him that he doesn't have the right to fight this is wrong, there is a chance as precendece has shown that he can maintain the domain and the site as a forum for classmates as long it never uses the classmates.com logo, or any material.

 

Apple can have the rights to use the term for computers. Because it's not the generic meaning of the word. So you can't get a domain name like apple-computers.com to sell computers. That's for sure.

But can you trademark the word apple as a fruit? No company can never trademark 'apple' in its literal meaning as a fruit. So everyone can get a domain like howtogrowapples.com

In this case classmates can hold the rights to the term in its special meaning associated with their service.

So, somebody having a forum for classmates in its general meaning is none of their business.

This looks idiotic to me. Let me trademark the term 'insurance' and transfer all the related domains to my company.

 

Can i just say that this is SICK. It is a normal world. I hade the same problem with some low life trademark the name "School Party" and every time someone had a school party he rushed to so them for their posters.

 

Fight Them You Should Win They Dont Own That Word !

 

Offering to pay money isn't a sign of anything. It's not uncommon for trademark owners to offer a nominal sum of money because it is cheaper than taking legal action.

I didn't see anyone say he didn't have the right to fight it - It just gets expensive and most likely doesn't make sense from a financial prospective to spend thousands for the right to an $8 domain that wasn't operating for long. As one of the largest advertiser on the internet, classmates has millions of dollars at stake. Even if you won at the WIPO level, they are going to appeal it and then it's going to get very costly - potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees with very little chance of getting any of it back even if you won the challenge. If you lose, since it a registered trademark, you risk paying treble their legal fees.

Of course, should you wish to fund a legal defense out of your own pocket, I wouldn't be surprised if the OP would let you.

 

And what I would do is just wait and do nothing. If they get the domain transferred to themselves against your will, you can sue them for at least a $100.000 in compensation and get the domain back.

 

Have you ever been to court on a trademark challenge (I have)? You can sue for anything, but the chances of getting anything substantial are slim to none. What are you going to show as actual damages for a domain that probably hasn't made $50? Courts almost never award legal fees to a none trademark holder in these situations. Again, you are talking about hundreds of thousands in legal fees for an $8 domain.

 

The site has a PR 3, so it can make at least a $50. And who can tell, it wouldn't make thousands if not interrupted in this way?

Come on, now don't make me register a classmates domain and show you how to keep it.

Just tell me. Can you trademark the word apple as a fruit? No. So you cannot trademark the word classmates with the meaning friends who've been to the same school.

 

Of course you can't trademark apple as a fruit - I've stated that many times.

Have you read the registered trademark usage that was granted to classmates.com? Hint: Look it up and see if you can find their granted usage in any dictionary.

It's pretty obvious that you have no actual experience in court with trademarks. If you have any money, perhaps you would like to fund the legal defense? Yeah.... I didn't think so....

 

I've already suggested that he can transfer the domain to me if he's worried about it.

Definition of classmate - a member of the same class at a school or college.

I can use the word with this meaning except for doing what they are doing. Right?

 

If he wins at the WIPO level, he can always transfer the domain to a person residing in a country that does not have a strong copyright law. The US courts will not have jurisdiction over the domain owner in this case.

 

Wrong. ICANN is a US company and follows US law. I don't care if you transfer ownership to the man on the moon, they will take the domain whether or not you grant permission.

 

Will the case be classmates xxxxx Inc vs ICANN or classmates xxxxx Inc vs domain owner?

 

'Classmates Forum - A Place for classmates helping each other with their papers'

Do you think this infringe their rights? There are many ways to keep that domain, whatever you say.

Good night

 

In a WIPO action, the domain is either transferred or the complaint is denied. You can stay a transfer if you appeal in a court suit, but ICANN doesn't need your permission to take back a domain in a WIPO or court action. Read the fine print you agreed to when you register a domain.