Per the WIPO complaint provided, the following domain name has been placed on Registrar-Lock: blah-blah The domain name will remain locked during the pending legal proceeding. The lock on the domain name shall expire automatically 1) Upon GoDaddy.com <http://GoDaddy.com>’s receipt of an order dismissing or suspending the case 2) Upon the expiration of the domain name registration including the Redemption Grace and Pending Delete Periods at the registry. Thank you, Shannon McDonald
It would appear someone has filed a WIPO action for trademark infringement. Once that happens, the domain is locked so it cannot be transferred out or sold. You probably received an email about having a domain with someone's trademark in it and ignored it. Now the trademark holder is asking to have the domain transferred to them. If they win the action, that is exactly what will happen - your domain will be given to them. If you don't believe you are guilty, you should be preparing a response to the WIPO proceeding.
Strange name to be protecting but maybe someone is, or you might find out it's just an advanced trick to bring you problems.
It's WIPO complaint. Honestly it's the first time I hear the name of this organization. Is it a sort of DMCA or what is it?
WIPO is the World Intellectual Property Organization. They are a branch of the UN that protect intellectual property of member states You can try Dispute that it is "fair use and non-competitive" Claiming you had never heard of the company in the first instance.
You see, the problem is that our domain name is pornRapidshare.com and the company who filled te complaint (I have just received it from their law company) is Rapidshare AG =(
You should just plan on losing the domain. It's an obvious case of trademark infringement and you don't have a leg to stand on. It wouldn't matter if you had never heard of RapidShare. You are lucky they didn't just sue you for all revenue the site ever generated, damages, and treble their legal fees. You could have been looking at owing six-figures.
It's pretty hard to get sued by Rapidshare for mentioned above things since we do not interfere in Rapidshare's interests - on contrary we've been sending them hundreds of new paid registrations every single month.
That isn't a legal defense, in fact, it directly proves their case for trademark infringement and makes a lawsuit easy. It wouldn't matter if your site was responsible for 90% of their total traffic. You should learn about intellectual property rights and the risks you take when you use a trademark in your domain name. They "own" the trademark and have full control over who can or cannot use it.
It's not a godaddy issue. When a registrar receives a notice of a WIPO dispute, they lock the domain until the outcome of the hearing. This prevents the domain owner from dumping the domain to some unsuspecting individual.
Godaddy is always strict with such cases other registrars i dont think follow the process or atleast at a fast pase i have heard such complains mainly with godaddy
http://torrentfreak.com/rapidshare-targets-sites-over-trademark-abuse-100425/ To read about this issue
Rapidshare has spent +$2000 to launch a WIPO action against you. It is not an idle threat - it is going to WIPO court and they will make decision . Given the circumstances I believe you will lose the domain when WIPO makes their inevitable decision against you. Get a new domain name and redirect to it in the meantime. It is not a GoDaddy issue. When a WIPO action is launched the registrar (any registrar) must freeze the domain. You can see recent WIPO decisions here: http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisionsx/index.html http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/search/index.html
Of course, the fact that RapidShare is bringing a WIPO action does not mean that they can't ALSO sue you for damages in a court of law. The two are not mutually inclusive.
Damn... everything is upside down. Rapidshare is the main damn evil. THEY are the bad guys who host TONS of infringed content. They are responsible for spreading illegal materials. They are the ones who have to be sued, aren't they????? What kind of damn damages are you talking about? WE even don't post any cursed links to our site. Damn... money definitely rule this world. One even could kill having big enough money back up. FUCK THIS WORLD (pardon my rudeness folks).
why don't you consult a lawyer who deals with these kind of issues? They might come up with something where you don't have to pay any financial damages...