I was recently contacted about a trademark issue for one of my sites and they have asked me to surrender the domain. I have replied saying that I will comply, but I haven't gotten a response back in a couple of days and I am just wondering how long companies usually take to respond to this sort of thing. I really want this to all be over with- anyone else willing to share their personal experience on this? The company is very big and well known. Also, if I turn over the domain is it likely that they won't try to take me to court or anything? I really meant no harm to the company, but they seem to think I was trying to mislead people into believing my site was actually the official site for their company. My site received very little traffic and didn't have much exposure, although I had sold advertisements on it, which I guess they didn't like. Just looking for personal experience or any advice I can get on this...
Some lawyers I know say most of the time that's the case. They might send a form something like you promise not to register any domain bearing their marks and what not, though you don't have to sign something someone else wrote for you. And yes, some companies take long to respond because of going through any or all of their people (read: bureaucracy) to get whatever consensus, some of whom don't even know how to have the domain moved to their own account. They'll take anywhere from a few days to even months. In the meantime, just don't put anything on the domain name and note whom you're communicating with. You can "gently remind" them, but they'll get back to you at their own good time. Oh, and ignore anyone here telling you to fight them or what-not, given what you described here. Sounds like the company got you dead to rights, though it doesn't have to lead to a necessarily bad ending. For those reading this and about to tell the OP to resist, I suggest reading it more than once to get a full grasp of what the OP's situation is. It is so easy to tell others to fight back if they themselves won't suffer whatever possible consequences of another's actions, but don't fully understand how and why.
Thanks for the information. They actually said that I had to respond in 10 days or they would consult the company (this letter was from their legal advisor) to perhaps take action. I just wanted to make sure that as long as I sent it within that time frame, it'd be ok, even if they don't respond within that frame. As for fighting back, I am not doing it because frankly the domain isn't worth that much to me at all. I really just want to end this situation and I am willing to turn over the domain without any resistance whatsoever. Thanks for the advice, rep added