I don't get how we're saying he changed the name... if you redirect the domain, is that not considered the same?
Agreed! I didn't check out his site... I thought he stated that there wasn't content regarding this guy or his products. In this case, he is infringing on his copyright... it really depends on whether it's worth fighting for!
I'm not sure I'd consider several years' worth of attorney's fees and time spent on the case to be "free". http://www.citizen.org/litigation/briefs/IntFreeSpch/cases/articles.cfm?ID=14270#nissan Not to mention that Nissan.com isn't allowed to run advertising (actually, it's not clear to me if all advertising is banned, or if only car advertising is banned). Either way, I would bet that this cost the nissan.com owner a pretty penny in both dollars and grief.
They're just trying to 'scare' you into giving it up. I bet their lawyer knows there's no way they can take your domain, but probably told the client that if they send you a letter you might get worried and give it up. Just ignore them and they'll go away. Jerks!
Just my 2 cents- I'm definitely not a lawyer so read this with a grain of salt. Trademark infringement is a problem in two instances- when it's used to create confusion or when it's used to generate a result (like revenue or maybe web traffic) that wouldn't have occured without benefit of the trademark. Not sure how this might apply to the web, but here's an example: Ford Pharmacy most likely wouldn't run afoul of Ford Motor Company, whereas Ford Auto Repair might. We had a somewhat similar situation- we own a domain name that happens to be the same as the name of a '60s sitcom. Our site has nothing to do with that show or TV at all. We were contacted by a big shot Hollywood producer who said he was making a movie based on the sitcom. I turned down his ridiculously low offer for the name, after which he made a lot of noise about trademarks and lawyers and such, but so far nothing has come of it. It seems like your website is dangerously close to the Ford Auto Repair scenario. I think you might have a problem. But, like I said, I'm not a lawyer. I'm interested to see how this turns out.
We had gotten an email from Chuck Norris lawyers, saying we had violated copyright or trademark by having a game featuring a character named chuck norris on our arcade/game site. We just ignored it, and nothing more came out of it. I'm sure that they may have some legal standing somewhere, but it is most likely too much trouble/time/money to pursue it, and they hope to scare you into complying with them.
The nissan.com example directly cost Nissan a sale with me. We recently agreed to rule out the MDX because we simply couldn't buy a nissan in good conscience after knowing that they bullied that guy and cost him all that greif. Choke on that Nissan!
Eventually I found this article that has introduced me into the Nissan dispute,very interesting.. Thanks God my family name is not infringing any copyrights and I am not being forced to change it or any business name that uses it. Just curious, when giving a name to my son or daughter, shall I be considering any copyright restrictions to make sure I am not at risk to be sued for that? Annoying sometimes.
Geesh, I hope not. Just named my first daughter Webmasterworld. She's adorable, and I'd hate to lose her to Brett. I'll have ICANN look review the birth certificate.
That's a fantastic name fora baby girl, I'm sure your daughter will sue you for that when she grows up
Hi there, I am the owner of the website http://www.ekpc.co.uk we stand up against one of the biggest internet players out there, freepay.com. Currently we are ranked 3rd on Google and freepay are unable to touch me. All my content is the truth and it is damaging to their company, you can check their traffic on Alexa.com. We launched the site in Apr 2006 and since then their traffic has more than halved. So back to this Rich Jerk. Kelly Felix eh? Well in Scotland Felix is a cats name so it suits him well since he sounds like a pussy. I've seen his sites and can't believe gulliable folk still fall for these, even with all the warnings going around. Its true what they say you don't get anything for nothing in this world. If Rick Junkie could sue you, then Freepay could sue me, and Alex Tew creator of the million dollar homepage could sue thousands of people. The truth is this guy is threatened by you, he sent you a scare letter and it worked. Kelly is a girls name it should be jerkess or jackass, which ever! Get a life Bitch Jerk and stop hassling and conning folk. Go get a job like everyone else, eejit. Mo'n the Scotland
Rich Jerk had no choice but to sue you. The whole marketing campaign revolves around I know something that you don't. By even suggesting that it was a scam was going to jeapardise quite a lucrative company. For him this is a no hold barred contest. Why did you build the site anyway? All seems like bad karma on both sides.
Wow i wasnt expecting this thread to come back again, i thought it was all done and dusted... oh well