Ebay does not like my domain and is threatening legal action

This dude also got an Ebay TM letter as well: http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=896872

 

I got one of those letters myself, i desided just to give it up and dont risk anything. In my opinion it werent worth it.

 

The woman in the eBay v PerfumeBay dispute thought so too...and so far had
lost. Up to you if you still wanna take a chance.

 

I would suggest you to contact the people who sold the domain to you and forward them the email sent by eBay. They should refund you for selling you copyrighted stuff. I personally wouldn't mess in legal terms with a company that big.

 

delete it, its clearly tm infringement.

Otherwise, open your wallet:
http://www.dnlist.com/Domain_Names/Legal_Resources/Lawyers/
I doubt many will say you stand a chance but if you've got 100k to lose.... go for it.

 

I'm sure lots of people believe that. But the registrar isn't obligated to refund
one for registering a domain name bearing a trademark, especially when they
never pointed a gun towards the user's head for doing so.

Besides, it's spelled out in the registrar's contract you agreed to, even if you
didn't read or agree with it personally.

 

you just design your site as a social infomation, non commercail site, I think you have many chances to win.

 

I'm also the lucky recipient of an eBay legal email about a domain I registered - TheEbayFormula.com

After a small amount of research it is easy to see that eBay protect their trade name with a vengeance!

I agree with hank_m, fighting eBay would be both expensive and time consuming - not worth the effort.

 

well I'll be damned... I had no idea that ebay was this protective... Crazy bastards!

 

That seriously sucks. If you have a lawyer on demand, I would talk to them. (My hubby has this and I can't tell you how nice it is - for $15 a month he can call his lawyer anytime & only pay fees if you lose or a percentage of the settlement if you win - otherwise the consulation & everything else is free)

I think you are doing the best thing now. Have you verified that it is really ebay that sent the letter and not some kind of scam thing?

 

Apart from protecting their TM, eBay is quite greedy as always.

 

Personally I cannot believe some of the replies I am reading in this thread.

Ebay, whether you like it or not, own the trademark to this name. You, owning a derivative of this renders you by law, a cyber squatter.

Is it honestly really worth it to try to push it with ebay, who no doubt have a great deal more clout than you do?

Read this paragraph:

"In fact, registering Web site domains containing trademarked terms with the bad faith intent to profit from them is forbidden under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA). Signed into law by President Clinton in 1999, ACPA is a part of the Lanham Act, the nation's primary federal trademark statute. ACPA imposes civil liability of up to US$100,000 in statutory damages for anyone who, with a bad-faith intent to profit, "registers, traffics in or uses a domain name that is identical to, confusingly similar or dilutive of" an existing trademark."

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2006/aug06/08-22domaindefense.mspx

For further simple information pertaining to this specifically, you can watch this Youtube video clip which is entitled:

Domain Name no-no's... Interview with a Domain Name Lawyer:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=oGyJx_9iSO4

My advice to you is to let this domain go immediately! Do not touch trademark domains full stop, you are simply asking for trouble if you go down this route.

If you want to believe the fools that advise you that nothing will come of this email, then more fool you. They have nothing to lose by giving out said bad advice, whilst you have everything to lose.

Is it really worth chancing it? Do you really, honestly want to mess up your credit file for possibly years to come?

Would you rather lose a $7 registration fee or a minimum of $100,000 plus court costs?

Use your commonsense and just let it go immediately!

If you do not, you are an absolute blinkin' lunatic, in a nutshell!!

 

i love the english flavor added to some good advice it is quite unbelievable how little people know about trademarks related to domain names and dole out terrible advice. there are consequences, ebay has a team of lawyers hired to do this each and every day of the week, it's not like it is costing them any extra to hire them, they have an army of them, permanently.

 

I think that's just cool. I mean this Edith guy from eBay spent his 5 minutes writing to you about this matter. I'd print that out and frame it.

Not easy to get; not easy to resolve either

 

I just don't see how ebaysellingtips.org is "identical to, confusingly similar or dilutive of" ebay.

Nobody would confuse the two and they are not identical.

Also, there are sites out there like www.ebay-profits.com which actually have content and seem to be fine for the time being.

 

Maybe you don't. But if other people display similar or the same symptoms as
those in the eBay v PerfumeBay dispute (which I take you didn't read?), then
it doesn't matter what you think.

Ask yourself this: if you see a site with the word eBay, what are the chances
you won't associate it with the auction service? Everyone else?

If you still think no one would confuse your site with a uniquely famous mark,
then go ahead and do your thing. Let us know what happens down the road,
but I hope you won't come crying here later on how unjust eBay might be.

As to why that other site is still up, either they've somehow gotten consent
from eBay, or eBay will eventually tear them apart.

 

May be some one is playing prank with you

 

what are you people afraid of so bad? "drop it", "you`ll go to jail", "oh my God, you`re gonna die", doh(!).

Tell them what are you going to do with the domain to see their reaction, then talk to a lawyer. If he advises you to drop it then this is it. But at least don`t give up so early. That`s why they are so rich and powerfull, because they get people scared with an email.

PS. tell them that if you registered ebayaresomef***ingbastards.com would create much more confusion than your domain name

 

Or even more problems for the OP than intended confusion, which is where
domain name-trademark disputes boil down to. Do you want to help create a
bit more problems for the OP than intended?

 

I purchased a name like that a few years ago, on ebay!! There were a bunch of them for Sale.
I was a powerseller so I called up ebay and asked them if this was ok, and wasn't it a tm violation.
They said it's really no big deal, but you know what - it is a tm violation. I would not not fool around
with them.............remember the original Napster ?