So I bought the domain videoprofessorreviews.info and now got a C&D letter from their general counsel. Faxed and mailed it. Wants it to go away due to the possible name conflict/etc... What to do... no atty here... wonder if i can counter offer the domain name for $$ to see what they say... Any ideas here?
I think that you are OK for the same reasons all those anti sites are allowed to operate like paypalsucks.com. As long as you aren't misleading people into thinking that your site is the Video Professor site or trying to profit on their brand I don't see an issue. Of course I'm not a lawyer either
I sort of disagree...it sounds like they have the legal clout and money to back it up. Even if a final ruling would be in your favor...can you go to court on this one? Sounds like they are willing. I doubt they'd want your site, as it has no branding potential for them, but you might ask for an offer anyway; you might be surprised. They may consider a small offer for your site cheaper than court. I wouldn't ignore this, but trying to negotiate something with them, you may find a solution. They are much more invested in this than you are, so deal with an understanding of that and they will appreciate you trying to cooperate while expressing your interests.
Well, if you're willing to fight it, then by all means do it. If you can't, then give up the domain name.
Careful. Ask them for money and they can claim you were domain squatting, that you registered a domain containing their name just to sell to them. You'll probably loose it then.
True, but I think it's a valid response to someone who wants to put you out of business, especially if they might be on shaky legal ground. Believe me, only lawyers want to see this in court. You can't shake down every domain with similar names.
Don't be an idiot. Give up the domain and consider it a victory. I have friends who WISH they had been asked to give up a domain name. Instead they were just served with a Federal Trademark infringement lawsuit and the costs of defending or settling becomes substantial. You would lose any legal effort to keep that name.