I have received an e-mail from BROOKS. Here is the e-mail: What should i do? I know that under the ICANN rules there is a rule that says: "Finders, Keepers" It is not my fault that they did not register this domain. I also want to mention that there are more sites with "xe" added in their domain like xecurrency.us, that is registered for almost 4 months or xecurrency.biz that is registered for more than 1 year. How did they survive. And i find this letter like a threat. Please help me, only experts please.
If you get to make up rules you should be okay. If following actual rules, looks like a pretty clear trademark violation to me.
I don't understand exactly what are you suggesting. Can you please guide me or show me a link how to "make up rules".
I was making a joke. You made up a rule that does not exist. If your made up rule did exist, you would be in good shape. Since you do not get to just make up rules, you are bound by the actual rules and based on that, it seems you are not going to prevail. You are using a trademarked term, in the exact industry as the trademark holder and you are trying to benefit of their good will. You don't have a leg to stand on. As for others doing it, or the fact that the company did not register the domain, they have no importance whatsoever.
Well if they are still "alive" what could be the explanation? Because the .us domain is on the first page for a lot of months.
It doesn't matter what anyone else is doing. They may be suing the other company, may have given them permission, or something else..... as stated, it doesn't make a difference or give you any legal defense. Your options are to give up the domain or be prepared to possibly spend a lot of money if they decide to go after you and take the domain. If is YOUR responsibility to check for possible infringement BEFORE you register a domain.
If they are suing the other company, that it is for a long time (first one 1 year, second one 4 months) and if they granted them permission what did they do to grant them permission? And why it should not give me legal defense, if those guys have the right to keep their domain, why i don't have the right. Please answer on the subject, stop avoiding the main point of the discussion. You make me laugh.
Because the law says it is no excuse. Frankly, you should be thankful for the time people spend educating you on the obvious. This is such a clear trademark violation that it stuns me that you are still demanding to know why and rudely I might add.
Ok, please paste a section of the "law" here and tell me why i should not demand explanation. They have trademark on their own "xe" not on all "xe" sites.
No thanks. You are rude so why would I waste my time continuing to assist you? As for your wanting to "demand" and explantion, from who? Nobody is required to give you anything, your ignorance of the law is your own damn problem. Good luck!
LOL! I've just covered my keyboard in coffee laughing at that. Quite right. Rude little tike. Some people (shakes head). Obviously you don't believe what you're being told. If that's the case, why not just go with your own thinking, defy the letter you've received, build up your ridiculous defence, and take your chances in court. I just hope you have deep pockets because your chances of winning and not paying costs are several percentage points less than zero. That's the facts - whether you like them or not. Away and do your own reading on the law.
They're not claiming that your site infringes, just the domain. In legal terms, they own the text "XE" in relation to currency. By setting up the domain "xe-currency.com", you're in direct violation of their ownership. I don't agree with what they're doing, but It's the law and you must respect it. My suggestion is to hire a lawyer and get advice on how to proceed further. More than likely they will agree the best choice is to mediate a transfer of the domain to XE Corporation. At the end of the day you will have lost the purchase price and a few hundred / thousand in legal fees.
Trademark law is not an exact science, but in this case you would probably have a weak case. http://www.gabrielharper.com/2009/12/8-tests-for-trademark-infringement/ The only additional point I would make is that if the term "xe" has a common use this would help your case. Unfortunately, whether you have a case or not is probably irrelevant if you're up against a large entity with lots of money and resources. However if you're based outside the US and your hosting provider is also outside the US, unless you are providing an "interactive service" to US based visitors (storing personal info, requiring login, etc.) they may have a difficult time getting jurisdiction. Still, chances are they will just threaten your host with a law suit and they will in turn shut your site off! Sucks, I know. Which is why it's always a bad idea to build a brand around someone elses established identity.
Personally I wouldn't just roll over though, I would 301 everything to a new domain and rename the site.
They have a registered trademark. The OP domain is blatant infringement. 301 everything to a new domain does not get around infringement. ICANN is a US company that follows US law. It doesn't matter where the OP lives in regards to having the domain taken from him. He has no valid argument for keeping the domain. He could be order to pay damages and treble the other sides legal fees. You are talking about huge sums of money at risk. It's not worth doing anything but turning the domain over immediately.
Well, you did say the magic word so here you go: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/uscode15/usc_sec_15_00001125----000-.html http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/search/overview2.0/index.html And check your registrar's contract for "UDRP" or trademarks. Not exhaustive, but they should give you some answers. And it's not that you can't demand an explanation, though it helps to be "polite" about it. That email from Brooks actually gave you some answers. As to why those other sites are still up, maybe it's a matter of time before Brooks goes after them as well. Not all drivers who violate speed laws are caught, but those that do get caught tend to pay a heavy price. IMHO, like the others, you practically don't stand a chance defending your use of that domain name. The others-doing-it "defense" hasn't really been known to work either. But...up to you. Good luck...'cause you'll need it.
My three year old was asking for milk and my wife told him to say the magic word..... .... he says, "I want milk - hocus pocus" it was pretty damn funny, and we gave him the milk for being technically correct - those are magic words.
The dispute is with the domain name only. That doesn't mean he can't run a currency converter. I never suggested that he should keep the domain. Also, XE is not a federally registered trademark. They are a "common law trademark", which means they haven't even registered with USPTO. In fact, XE.com is based in Canada. They are claiming a trademark based solely on the ownership of a domain "XE.com". And yes, where he lives and where the hosting company is located has a significant impact on jurisdiction. Basically what the OP got is a canned message from XE.com, and the chances of them filing a law suit are slim to none if he just takes the domain down. I'm not a lawyer, this is just my opinion. But if this were my domain, I seriously wouldn't lose any sleep over it. People send these threats all the time because it's cheap. Any sane company knows they aren't going to get a dime out of a lawsuit against a very minor player like this (no offense to OP). Brilliant! Sounds like something my three-year-old would pull on me.
I am not sure why you say the marks are not federally registered and that they are claiming a trademark based solely on ownership of a domain name. Both assertions are false. Their attorney provided the trademark registration numbers, I just looked them up and they are live active registered trademarks. (one is for XE and the other is for something with Currency) As for the last part, this is not just some random letter. He is using a clearly infringing domain name in the exact industry as the registered mark holder. Frankly they could just skip the courtesy notice and sue him. He might consider himself lucky to be given this opportunity to divest himself of the infringing name before really incurring damages. Personally, if I owed the domain, I would probably comply with their requests 1,2,4 and leave it at that.