Hi Ok, so some guy has registered the .com of my domain, i only registered the .co.uk as i didnt know how things would go business wise. (stupid i know) So i come to register the .com and he has it, and is threatening to setup a company doing the same thing as me with the same name. My business got some great media coverage before he registered, and I have been operating longer than him, the nature of my work i cant have some clown operating with the same name. I offered him a fair price for the domain, and im sure he is just after a quick buck from me. I have threatened him with legal, and he has ignored me thus far. Whats the best course of action? Do I see my solicitor and scare him with a letter? Thanks
Is the name able to be trademarked, and do you have trademark rights to the name (i.e. we're you the very first person to use the term in this manner (classification) - not just before this other person? If so, and IF, the other person uses the domain in the same way, you may have recourse against them. It's going to be very expensive if you are forced to go to court, especially since you don't (appear) to have a registered mark. You are probably looking at thousands to tens of thousands of dollars to pursue an infringement case. You should probably see an intellectual property rights attorney and see about filing for a registered mark. "scare letters" are usually a waste of money in this type of situation - especially since there really isn't much you can do at this point (since they haven't done anything with the domain yet.)
yeah im the first to use this name, and im pretty positive he is trying to extort me. Thanks for the input, I think im going to have to see someone about this Thanks for your help
I had a similar problem, but both domains were .co.uk and so I used Nominet's Dispute Resolution Service. I had to produce a lot of documentation to support my claim and pay £750 (plus VAT) to pay for a Nominet appointed "Expert" to rule on the case. In the end I did end up with the domain I wanted. Beacuse the disputed domain is a .com domain, I think that you'll have to follow the ICANN Dispute Resolution Policy http://www.icann.org/udrp/udrp-policy-24oct99.htm. Go through it in detail and find out how the domain infringes your rights and their policy on registering a domain. Their terminology seems to be "Evidence of Registration and Use in Bad Faith". Good luck and I hope that this helps Jon
If your name isn't trademarked yet, then this is the time to do so, once it is trademarked you'll have a legal weapon to combat all the other jokers who think they can extort you. I would also advice you to register the other major extensions of your business name, like.net and .biz and redirect them to your co.uk and hopefully soon to your .com domain. Good luck!
i own the co.uk .info, .net extensions, the .com is the only main one that evades me! Trademarking is a great idea, cheers