Hello, I work for a car dealership in a major city in the US. Someone owns the brand name and city of a dealership we're opening and is trying to sell it to us. I was under the assumption you couldn't register a trademarked domain, so I'm wondering if this is legal. Their justification for owning it was that they were going to start a blog for that brand's fans in that city. So, for example, if you own ford (insert city name).com, is it legal to try and sell it?
I think you shouldave post this in Legal Issues subforum.For what i know its not illegal to register and sell trademarked domains,until you find yourself with a lawsuit.But i could be wrong.Hope you find what you're looking for.Cheers!
There's (currently) no law saying one can't register a domain name bearing a trademark. There are some laws or measures (i.e. Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy) that don't allow one to make money off of a trademark without its holder's permission. Generally no, especially for unique and/or famous trademarks. The more unique and/or famous the trademark, the stronger it is. It essentially depends on context, which may involve various factors. If the person is selling Ford(city name).com to make money off of the automaker's mark, then that's a no-no. On the other hand, commentary and gripe (i.e. sucks) sites - especially the non-commercial ones - are generally allowed. An important thing about them is that they don't cause likelihood of confusion, which is what trademarks aim to prevent to begin with. As always, you best see a lawyer experienced in these matters. This thing isn't always black and white.
The guy that owns the domain was clearly just trying to make money off us by selling the domain. Not necessarily making money with the manufacturer's brand name. Think I should tell him to surrender the domain or we'll consult legal advice?
If: a) the other party contacted you first to sell the domain name, and b) you haven't responded, then you can simply tell him that what s/he is doing is infringing your employer's trademark rights. Otherwise, I'd get an experienced lawyer instead if I were you.