Tamilflu.com ? is it illegal domain name ? if yes why

I was recently browsing domain name regarding swine flu and found an interesting domain name tamilflu.com Now i got threatning email from Roche as follows :-
"
Dear Sirs

Your address has been quoted as contact of the above domain. We, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Basel/Switzerland are the owners of the worldwide rights to the trademark TAMIFLU®. We consider the above domain as clearly infringing our trademark rights. Therefore, we are asking you to confirm that you agree with the transfer of the domain name

tamilflu.com

to Roche. In case we have no according confirmation and do not hear from you until 27th August 2009, we shall take legal steps.

Best regards "


Are they right , do they have legal right to claim the domain ...?? should i transfer domain name and should i claim any money for it ? (cause it cost me $10 to buy domain and research worth $50 to find domain).

Thanks

 

Well first u need to confirm the people who contacted are u really the people they say they are so ask them for a contact number and maybe talk with them first if they are fraud they may not even contact u back

 

Yes they have a legal right to claim the domain, they own the trademark. They have the right to sue you or file a WIPO to take the domain.

You should also review this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cybersquatting

No, you should not ask them for any money - it would just help them to prove a bad faith registration. I would personally give them the domain and consider it an education on trademarks.

 

But dont u think from the email that there are chances that email isnt legit coz no contact details or anything just a simple email

 

First does tami flu exist?Is there such flu?When yes,they cannot sue you.I can register FLIGHTS and the start to sue everyone containing this word in their domain names?No,i don't think so.But when tami flue doesn't exist as a flu,yes they can sue you.

 

Oh wait ur domain is Tamilflu.com ? if yea there is nothing like Tamil Flu the real word is TamiFlu

 

It doesn't look like he posted the entire letter, and while a fake email is possible, I think in the vast majority of cases they are legitimate. Checking to see if it did come from the law firm isn't very hard.

 

You have no clue about trademark law. Don't post stupid guesses. tamiflu is a prescribed flu medicine and infringement doesn't have to be exact - only close enough to create possible confusion - which is exactly why you registered the domain in the first place. If they sue you, do you want to spend tens of thousands in legal fees - possibly more?

 

In his email he posted it says

Dear Sirs

who writes dear sirs ?

Well on that his domain is Tamilflu not TamiFlu ? does even that break the rules

 

Don't even reply to these clowns!
You have TamiLflu and their trademark (if they are who they say they are) is Tamiflu.
They have a big mouth, but it's just a letter to scare you. They would need to go extra steps, like in court to get TamiLflu.com from you and they're not sure to get it. But by scaring you, it works often and it doesn't cost them anything.

I'd think they're not even lawyers of F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Basel/Switzerland, so just ignore this email..

If they come back to you with something a little more convincing then give it another thought, but don't sweat over this, for sure...

If you don't want to follow my advice, then keep on freaking out about this and even give them your domain for free...

 

"Dear Sirs" is very, very common. What else are they supposed to use?

It doesn't matter that the names are not exact.

 

If they in fact have a 'worldwide trademark' they should be able to provide it for you, the trademark number, where it was registered and by whom. Do your research, if they have a valid claim, you're out of luck, but if you play your cards right you could very well make a little money off of selling it back to them.

 

tamiflu is a world wide trademark and the only medicine available for Swine flu or H1N1. Ans as mentioned in the mail the medicine Tamiflu is produced by Roche Pharmaceutical which is supplied all over the world.

 

IF there is a TERMIN like Tami Flu,medicin termin HE CANNOT BE SUED!!!I can register Swine Flu,and if there is a a TM SwineFlu,they cannot sue me.Well everybody can sue you for anything,however it won't stand in front of the court!

 

But his domain is TAMIL FLU not TAMI FLU the trademark is of TAMI FLU

 

Tamil flu lol OP there's no such trademark so feel free to use it how u want, but i guess the names which are similar to TM's also has some laws.

 

Stop being an idiot. You don't have the slightest clue about trademark law. We're not talking about "swine flu".

If a billion dollar company sues you, it will cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars to see it through the courts. If you win, you get nothing for your legal fees. Tamiflu is an pharmaceutical antiviral preparation, not an actual flu. Their registered mark is cast in stone - it cannot be contested.

The morons posting that since it isn't an exact match, they can't do anything are completely wrong. Tell that to "Perfumebay" who lost their domain to ebay - after spending over $600,000 in legal fees to fight it. Similar spelling, typos, even foreign spellings can all be trademark infringement - this is a FACT.

 

the domain is closely related and can create confusion in peoples mind. Not sure what court will judge it as but maximum possibilities that it will go in the Companies favor.

Just for example imagine if some one some one who actually does not know about tamiflu only heard it somewhere and tries a search as tamilflu or accidently comes to this site and incase if his site also sells drugs of any sort. Thats gonna creat a lot of confusion and some legal liabilities too.

 

Hmm if thats the case OP should first try to see if they are legit and if they are give it to them and maybe even get the reg fee from them if its legit they wont care for 10$ i suppose

Coz the company is active in getting the domains see http://domainnamewire.com/2009/05/07/tamiflu-maker-goes-after-swine-flu-domain-names/

 

Just write to them soft spoken accepting to transfer the domain and request them if any compensation could be provided as you are a domineer and your main work is flipping domain.