A couple of months ago I registered a domain name, it is the English spelling of a foreign word. Today I got a letter via the domain registrar from some law firm. They claim their client has the copyright on the word and demand I turn over the domain to them. Anyone have experience in such things? If they own the copyright and are so concerned about it why did they not register the domain is was available until a couple of months ago.
Well, one cannot own a copyright on a word. It is possible they have a trademark on it. I doubt a law firm would make that mistake. As to your other point, a trademark owner is under no obligation to buy the domain name. If you are, or bought it, planning to use it in their trademark category you might have a problem. If you have a non-infringing use planned then they have no case even if it is their mark. Just because it is their mark does not necessarily mean they have the right to the domain name. The particular facts are essential to know whether or not there is a problem.
Hi Browntwn, You are correct, it is a trademark they are on about. I have not done anything with the domain yet (except setup some email accounts), I don't know who the company is or what their trademark is about. Guess I will have to do a bit more research, but I seriously doubt my usage of the domain would conflict with their trademark.
It really comes down to likelihood of confusion. If your use is not likely to confuse the public, it is usually okay. The more common the word the better. You might want to look it up at USPTO.gov using the trademark search there and see exactly what category they have a trademark under in addition to just doing a Google search and seeing what they are up to.
I looked up the trademarks (they mentioned in the letter received). The trademarks are for all kinds of stuff, products, food, services, entertainment etc. I'm not doing any of those things with the domain, just a personal website. I'll let them take the next move.
I registered once a copyrighted concept and the owner sent me an email asking me to turn it back. I did it and had no major trouble. They even pay the transfer to them and the amount I paid for the registrations. Usually companies get in touch first to negotiate an amicable solutions before actually suing someone. It's the response of who owns the domain the solution or the starting of the lawsuit. As for the name, many companies do that, trademark a name and its variables in other languages, particularly in those which are the most common, French, German, Spanish, Italian, etc.
You don't have to sell it to them or give it back. Don't let them scare you with lawyers. You are within your rights if you follow what others have said. What I would do is tell them they can buy it from you for a large sum of money. They can either waste money in court or just buy the domain name. You make a nice profit. Everyone wins!
I'm not going to just turn over a domain because I get some letter. I don't see anything in their trademark that I am infringing on. If they were a shoe company and I was selling sandals then I could see it. In my case I have not even done anything with the domain yet, they were on me so fast. Their trademark on the domain goes back nearly 15 years yet from what I can tell they are not even doing business in the country of the trademark. If they were so keen on the domain, they should have registered it.
The part I underlined is very bad advice and you should not follow it. By doing that, you establish one of the elements of bad faith. You can simply wait for an offer but under no circumstances, after getting a letter such as the one you got, do you want to offer to sell the domain to them for "a large sum of money".
I can't imagine anything bad happening if it is just an English word. But I don't know much about this stuff all I can do is wish you luck man!
Microsoft once sued someone over the personal website of someone named Mike Rowe for his personal domain mikerowesoft.com What's the company? Have you even heard of them before? Do you really think they'd really sue or are they bluffing?
It depend how they secure their by brand name. Some companies secure their domain name buying all the domain extension so cannot register by others. But there do some companies that they do not need to do that so while they already trademark their brand . Same like apple where you can notice that lot of apple domain extension is still available but others have the right to register it due to copyright and trademark issues.
Heh, that's essentially a problem. Does the other party indeed have a claim, or are they calling one's bluff? Unfortunately, one either: a) researches then decides as best as possible, or b) ask a real-life expert (e.g. lawyer specializing in domain-trademark disputes) for answers.
I've been in this situation - and I dropped the domain like a hot potato It really is not worth the agro Get another domain and move on Can you afford the legal consequences? Being right is one thing - but is it worth paying the price (legal fees)