I received an email to take my site down and transfer the domain back to them for free in exchange not to get sued by zuffa Domain Name: UFC BARS.COM Created on: 08-Apr-07 Where I can find my rights or should i transfer my domain to them... what would you do?
Checking cached pages, it seems you were infringing upon their intellectual property rights by using their trademark in a domain that was related to Ultimate Fighting. It doesn't matter that you took down the content, you are already liable. I would turn over the domain (and don't ask them for money either). You could fight it, but to defend a trademark suit through the court process would easily cost you six figures - not counting appeals. It's certainly not unheard of to spend over a million in legal fees. If you win, you keep the domain and are likely out attorney fees. If you lose, you are out your attorney fees, and could be ordered to pay damages (actual and punitive) plus treble their legal fees (since their mark is registered). It simply isn't worth taking the risk for a site that certainly isn't worth the risk. Don't register domains with trademarks and use them in a manner to profit off of their goodwill - it just isn't worth the liability. At least they are giving you the chance to turn over the domain - they didn't even have to contact you before filing a lawsuit.
UFC is a trademark, just like NBA and MLB are trademarks. You can use the name of the sport in your domain, but not the trademark. UFC is mixed martial arts, so why use MMAbars.com (or something like that) instead?
I believe that US trademark only active in US territory unless the trademark is registered International. Am I right? So if u life outside US, I think it's OK.
No, you're wrong. ICANN is a US company that follows US law. Trademarks are recognized by other countries under the Madrid Protocol. The OP's usage was related to the US. Don't guess with legal issues.
Thanks for the info. What if the trademark is not popular like UFC or NBA? Do we just ignore the trademark infringement emails? I believe many user use trademark such as Apple, Iphone in their domain.
You don't use a trademark in domain in an attempt to ride their goodwill, period.... unless you are ok with a possible lawsuit and paying damages. Trademarks do not even need to be registered in the US.
It's too bad there isn't a way to have it checked through the domain registration process. I've seen this happen too many times. Sorry