I have just registered the .co domain of a major USA company of which they operate the .com name which is a trademark. I also have identified a list of about 3 - 4 companies with revenues around $1billion EURO per year, I thinking of registering the .co domains and running related ad's until i can find a way to offer the domain to them . What is my legal situation ? My Goal is basically to profit from their complicity in not being 'on the ball' and registering there company names as a .co domain . My best outcome is to raise a few thousand $$ by doing a simple transfer of the names to the business's so they can redirect it to their main websites. Is it worth a try , or should I stay clear of it. ?
You should stay clear of it... It's not because they didn't register the .CO version that you can. They have a trademark on the words. You will always be in risk unless you are starting a business site on those domains that is unrelated to theirs (for example they are a car company and you start a food company). And even then it's risky (especially if it's a major company like apple or microsoft, if they find out you will be in trouble no matter what you do with the domain) On another note, the second you will write any of those companies asking that you wish to sell this domain to them they will have legal proof that you are keeping the domain in bad faith.
So if someone registered a domain and they became aware of it and it was just a landing page or a blank page etc. would they sue for damages immediately or would they request a simple transfer of the name... Isnt there any cases of successful domain names of trademarked names being sold to the trademark holder. I figure they would be happy to pay $1,000 for the name transferr than $4,000 for a legal team to send letters to get it for them..... ?
There is clear legal precedent for them to take the domain from you. They simply file a UDRP action against the domain with sufficient supporting evidence and your registrar will remove the domain from you. Now, they could sue you for damages as well - but I am not sure how well defined that protocol is since the TLD is not run by a US based registry.
Stay way from TM names, it will end up costing you...and not to mention your reputation as a squatter
A major company could care less about saving a few thousand dollars. As soon as they pay some scumbag domain squatter, that idiot will register another or post about their payday - so most would rather spend any sum of money to make a point and deter future problems. You are only about the 10,000th idiot to come up with the idea of domain squatting (and there are huge penalties for doing it). They can sue you without sending any warning - and with a registered TM, you can be ordered to pay treble their legal fees anyway. Here's an idea.... How about trying to come up with an original idea instead of trying to make a couple of bucks off the hard work of someone else? - or are you too mentally handicapped to attempt it?