If i say bought a domain name for say... ( Just out of the blue ) www.myebay.com ( its prob. already taken and no thats not the domain name i want lol ) But lets just say it is... Am I legally aloud to have that domain because it has ebay in it? Im looking to put LIVE a website that is already up but for a completely diff. purpose. It will have the same color theme, ( Diff logo but same concept ) But this site I want to put LIVE will have in no way anything related to the site that is up right now. It wont have any of the same features or nothing! A response back to this question would help me greatly Thanks allot, - Jerome
I'm not a lawyer... but I think the more your site resembles ebay, either in concept or in design (like having the same color scheme) the more risk you put yourself in for having their lawyers contact you with a cease and desist.
You will run risks if there is any chance that people will either confuse your site as being associated with the one with a similar name or if they can show that on the balance of probability you have purchased the domain simply to gain traffic at their expense. On the basis you have said you will be copying their name, colour scheme and logo concept it does sound that there is a significant risk of allegations of passing off
No see heres the thing... I have changed the color theme to my own style. The LOGO is same concept... But is absolutely not the same. as a matter of fact I created this logo from scratch.. But based it off this website. Do you still feel this way? - Jerome
ebay sends automatic emails to domain owners with ebay in the title... Whether you are infringing or not doesn't really matter to them. And why would you be owning a domain with Ebay in it? Your example of MyEbay is clearly a violation of TM law and if used for any commercial gain would be possible a target for legal action.
@OP Your last post changes nothing. The fact that you made it "from scratch" means little. The fact that you based it off the original means everything. That will be seen as trying to cause consumer confusion.
The two tests are: 1) Are you likely to effectively miss lead consumers into believing the two sites are connected? If you are then generally you will be hit like a tonne of bricks as most countries laws protect consumers rights much more heavily than businesses 2) Are you using this domain simply to gain traffic at the expense of the other company? Punishment is generally civil only but of cause robbing a large organisation of 10,000 visitors a day plus their associated sales could make for a very large claim for damages. For a previous employer that was reclaiming miss spellings of their domain name their average settlement achieved was circa £60,000 ($120,000) and that was more of a slap on the wrist than going for the full amounts due
are you stupid or can you just not READ! I said in my very first post that myebay is not the domain i am getting. so how about you do this. Come back when you have something worth posting. Thanks cock munch, - Jerome
Well, using eBay in anyway in your name can definitely get you a cease and desist letter. A few months back there was a round of them flying around from Myspace, to owners of sites with "Myspace" in their name. "Myspace Tweaks, Myspace Tools, etc" Not everyone got hit.. but if eBay wanted to, they surely could.. Just my two cents..
You're the one who's an idiot if you can't come up with an original site layout and logo. What you're suggesting is probably border line infringement depending how close your site looks compared to ebay. I certainly think it's pathetic you can't come up with something on your own.
And if you read my post clearly you would see I am fully aware that it's an EXAMPLE... Maybe if you had proper english comprehensions skills then legal issues wouldn't be a problem. Thanks for reading and good luck on your endeavors.
Christmas...christmas For those who may look at this thread in future: Here is a similar thread: http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=274527
I was going to post a nice long explanation of the myriad ways that you could get in trouble doing what you want to do but why would I (or anyone else) try to help someone with such a shitty attitude? I say go for it, nothing bad should happen.