I have just purchased farcrytwo.com as a domain name and I was wondering what type of legality issues, if any, I could run into with Ubisoft, the game developer of Far Cry 2 (To which the site is dedicated). I do not have anything on the site and all I plan to do is sell the site undeveloped. Any insight into the legality would be greatly appreciated as I am very new to all of this and don't want to get into trouble.
Nah dont be silly Just start the "Far Cry Two People Blog" about a guy and a girl in Mississippi..... for now....... then it is cheaper to buy it from you then them paying lawyer fees.
my idea is to just put a few pics of the game up there and write "THIS GAME FREAKING ROCKS!!!" without an PPC or anything. They will assume that you are a young teen and not do anything about it.
My intent is to sell the domain to someone else. I already have a few bids on the domain. I just don't want to run into any legal issues. I'm not going to be putting anything up on the site, just a blank slate. If/when I do sell it, will I still be liable if Ubisoft decides to pursue it? Or will the new owner be the one liable?
You can sell the domain with no problem, so long as you are not telling people they can us it for the game. A buyer can find non-infringing uses for it and you will not be liable if the buyer uses it improperly, nor are you required to ask how they intend to use the name. EDIT: mjewel brings up some additional points. As he suggests it is probably a better course of action to just give away the domains since you have posted this thread and now are aware of trademark issues and posted your intention that the domain has a connection to the game. I have sold names that I did not feel safe using, but like I said above, it is not my responsibility to make sure the buyer will use the name in a non-infringing manner.
That is exactly what could be a problem, if you would buy the domain to make a personal site I doubt you will face any legal issue, but you are wanting to profit from someone else's copyrighted work.
Without content, you have less of a chance of infringing upon a mark. Any reference to the game on a site would give the TM holder cause to do something about it. Offering to sell a domain to a trademark holder is something you should never do - it's bad faith. Since you posted the domain and acknowledged that you knew about the trademark, which also seems to have been the intent behind the registration "To which the site is dedicated", you have already potentially opened up a can of worms with some liability with a bad-faith registration. Having a domain that infringes upon a trademark does not mean you will be sued or even contacted, but you should assume that is a possibility. Some game trademark holders have chosen not to pursue most cases of infringement where they would clearly win - I have no idea of the policy of Ubisoft - which is subject to change anytime they want. If you wish to sell the domain, I would certainly make it clear to any buyer (because of the comments you posted here) that any use of the domain for game related content would likely have TM infringement problems. If you sell the domain, and the new owner is sued, they might try and use your admissions to go after you. I would personally just get rid of the domain and take the very small loss as a learning experience.
How does one get rid of a domain? Also, if I do make it very clear to the buyer that the site may have trademark issues, and he/she still decides to buy it, with no influence from me to tell them what they should/shouldn't do with the site, if they do indeed buy it could I still be at risk later on as a trademark violation. When I purchased the domain I did not know anything about trademark violations and just saw it as an opportune investment. Now that I know about these trademark violations I'm just concerned about getting contacted later on. I would be more than happy to forfeit the domain to Ubisoft if they want me to. Also, is there any way I could contact Ubisoft and get their permission to sell my domain to someone else without the knowledge of what could be on the site? I updated my ad and made it very clear that I cannot recommend things to do with the site, it is up to the bidder to decide what they wish to do. I have also stated that if they do purchase the domain, it may be subject to trademark violations. "You can sell the domain with no problem, so long as you are not telling people they can us it for the game. A buyer can find non-infringing uses for it and you will not be liable if the buyer uses it improperly, nor are you required to ask how they intend to use the name." Are you sure about that? Absolutely sure?
I think if you made it clear that the domain is likely to have TM issues with any gaming content, then you will likely be ok. The chances of any legal action if you sell the domain are probably very, very small. I just don't take small chances for a small amount of money. Any type of litigation is expensive, and even if you win, if highly unlikely you will be awarded attorney fees. I would contact namecheap about giving up the domain if that is what you want to do. Godaddy has a process for doing it, but I don't how namecheap does it. Contacting Ubisoft is something you should not do under any circumstances. There is no way they are going to give you permission to sell a domain (there is absolutely no benefit to them).
Has anyone ever been prosecuted for a game related website TM violation? If so, what were the outcomes?
Regarding another site, if I should sell it, the whois and everything is then in their name, correct? They can't turn around and say they got it from me for any legal grounds? For instance, I'll use the current site in question as an example. Say a TM conflict comes up and they contact the new owner and ask him to forfeit the domain and he refuses and says "Oh, well that guy, Berethend, sold it to me, it's not my responsibility for the content." Even if I didn't put anything up on the site to begin with and he did all of the work to it and was aware of the risks involved with putting that content up, can I still get dragged into the mixup? I suppose it would be the same as them contacting me and me trying to place blame on the registrar company, right? It wouldn't work?
Of course you can be sued. You can be sued for any reason. Whether or not they will win or not is another question. You'll still have the expensive of legal fees which you won't get back unless you happened to have a prevailing party clause in a contract. If you bought a domain from someone, and then after starting to use it you were sued for damages, all earnings the site ever generated, plus penalties and treble legal fees, and then lost the domain (which is what can happen in an infringement suit) and you discovered "by doing a search on google" that the person who sold it to you knew there were potential trademark issues with the domain and didn't disclose it, you might just decide to sue the original seller for failing to disclose the potential infringement. A registrar is another story. They aren't required to do trademark searches before they give you a domain. Their TOS states it is your responsibility. A good TM search runs hundreds of dollars and still isn't a guarantee. The real problem here isn't so much the domain name, but the intent which you posted that is was registered for. No matter what scenario you come up with, a potential for you to be sued exists, period. You should get the advice of an intellectual property rights attorney (and not off a forum) if you want actual legal advice and specific to your actual circumstances.
I think I will cancel the domain name entirely and remove my ad for the sale of the site. It seems like the best bet at this point in the game. I don't want any legal hassles and this has had me going back and forth. I think the safest thing is to cancel the domain entirely and don't try and do anything with it.
You won't have legality issues. Sure it is a TM name but there are so many fan sites on the internet for so many games and the people who make these games actually like the publicity. I have had many gaming sites and not one of them had a problem. Don't worry about it.
I realize you're saying that because you haven't had legality issues yet. But if I drive 65kph in a 65kph highway while others drive faster than me, do any of them tell you if something is potentially illegal? Currently you seem to be doing fine. But your experience doesn't necessarily dictate the outcome of others, especially if a trademark holder finally decides to make an example out of someone. You just never know.
Berethend, Here's your problem. You're currently violating the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) 15 USC 1125(d) which provides, in pertinent part: "(d) Cyberpiracy prevention (1) (A) A person shall be liable in a civil action by the owner of a mark, including a personal name which is protected as a mark under this section, if, without regard to the goods or services of the parties, that person— (i) has a bad faith intent to profit from that mark, including a personal name which is protected as a mark under this section; and Factors considered in finding bad faith are listed, in pertinent part, as: (B) (i) In determining whether a person has a bad faith intent described under subparagraph (A), a court may consider factors such as, but not limited to— . . . . (VI) the person’s offer to transfer, sell, or otherwise assign the domain name to the mark owner or any third party for financial gain without having used, or having an intent to use, the domain name in the bona fide offering of any goods or services, or the person’s prior conduct indicating a pattern of such conduct;" As you can see, offering to sell the name makes it more likely that you're in violation of the ACPA. Your best bet is to contact your registrar and either see if you can get your money back or just turn the name back over to the registrar, refund or no. Just my $.02. Deena Burgess, Esq. __________________________________________________________________________________ Any opinions are offered without knowledge of the specific law of your jurisdiction and with only the limited information provided in your post. No advice given here should be reasonably relied upon by you or any third party without consulting an attorney who is aware of all of the facts and law surrounding your situation. Any advice given here is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship in any way.