One month ago I registered emusichints.com. I thought it was a good catchy name. I have done nothing with the domain. has a parking page on the domain when you type it into a browser. I received an e-mail today from legal counsil for emusic.com. They stated that i was infringing on their trademark and that just adding the word hints was to generic. I have done nothing with the domain name and really only planned to have it link to one of my other domain names I registered. They stated I have to turn the name over to them. I am confused, adding the letter e to most things is pretty generic. I just added the word hints to it all. Please Help. I do not want to give up the name. If they want it shouldnt they have to buy it like I did ? help from some of the pro's out there would be great
You can fight them in court for it but it is probably not going to worthwhile as it would cause you a lot and you most probably not win the case as emusic is trademarked.
Should I ask for the cost of registering the domain and all of the trouble? It seems that they would spend alot in legal fees to fight this. maybe $100
This is the standard form letter attorneys send out to scare the bejesus out of the little people. There is little they can do to you if you haven't even done anything with the domain. They hope you'll hand over the domain after wetting your pants. I'm also interested in what trademark they are talking about. My search found none in the US that protects them as of yet. You may not want to tell them you'll accept money. You can tell them that you haven't seen anything that points to their having a right to the domain name.
Thanks slinky, This is what the letter states ' emusic.com owns many registrations of its mark in various countries. Which included US reg #2036441'.They keep talking about their mark. I did realize that my host put up a generic parking page that had a link to music as well as many other unrelated catagories. They stated that this was in competition with the site emusic.com and they look upon this as ' evidence of bad faith '. you are right about scare tactics. My wife has been yelling at me for the last hour. Any help would be greatly appritiated
***disclaimer I am not a laywer this is my suggestion and that is all it is a suggestion as i will not be held liable if you use my suggestions**** Contact them back and state you have done nothing with the domain but park it. But if they are willing to buy it from you, you would be more than happy to consider a sale. As the only time trademark is an issue if you are ussing it to compete in the same field. you could possible tell them you were planning to use the site for electronic music hints as in making digitized music. while in the same realm i don't think it directly conflicts with their line of business.... But i would say you would be interested in selling the domain to them I would not just hand it over.
Do not do this and this is not true - no offense. You are basically telling them you bought the domain to be a squatter. If you want to see cases that deal with "innocent" uses, see the Panavision case.
Check out this case Emusic.com vs emusicmp3.com which made it to the courts, pretty much the same reason as yours. The domain name was not being used but it ended up in court. Emusic does own a trademark for emusic February 11, 1997. http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisions/html/2004/d2004-0967.html Hope that helps you decide on your next course of action.
Make the domain redirect to a site about gardening or something completely unrelated to music - that's the end of their claim since it only relates to music. A domain name in itself is not enforceable a s a trademark. It depends how it is used.
I have a question related to this issue, if an owner of a trademark tells you to give them the domain are you required to give it to them for free? or do they have to pay you a little if they want it?
No, they don't need to pay you for it. You should be happy they do not sue you for it. Of course, if you are a kid, they may offer you something for it assuming you are using the domain name because you love the character or product/services. Here are some articles which relates to trademark and domain names http://www.chillingeffects.org/domain/faq.cgi#QID245 http://www.nolo.com/article.cfm/Obj...D-4688-4C4E-947C609C7CCFE81A/111/228/195/FAQ/ http://www.nolo.com/article.cfm/objectID/DD1CA29C-2C6E-424B-98702C46192940E4/111/228/195/ART/ http://www.allbusiness.com/technology/internet-domain-names/683-1.html http://www.allbusiness.com/technology/internet-domain-names/2632-1.html
Don't do that, they can use it in court against you to prove that you registered the domain in "bad faith". Don't ask for a settlement, let them offer you one if they want to.
If you are lucky you can get in return the cost of domain registration and nothing else. However, get ready for another problem: 1&1 There are too many complaints against this registrar/hosting service and may become a pain transfer the domain to emusic in case they ask you to do so.
Don't let them scare you into a legal nightmare. If they want to buy the name, hang out for good money.
If you intend to keep the name or want them to pay for it, be prepared to go to court to defend yourself. Start looking for a good lawyer now. I am sure they will do everything they can legally to safeguard their trademark. The case I cited earlier was not the only case that is similiar to yours and got dragged into court.
If the attorney for the other side has screen-captured any site the domain name might have had, it's too late for that. Given the rather broad classification of emusic's trademark, you'll rather find it difficult to prove you have no intent to get a free ride on their brand if you're especially planning to put any hint of commercial use.
Well, yes and no - it was a generic parking page so redirecting to something unrelated to music means there is no legal claim against the domain with regards the trademark. I wouldn't suggest actually using the domain for anything but it would get the immediate heat off the OP. Follow that with a simple, polite letter back to the lawyer stating the parking page was generic and automatically assigned by the registrar upon purchase and they really don't have much of a claim on the domain. What to do with it after that is probably to offer to transfer the domain to emusic if they pick up the tab for reasonable expenses incurred such as registration and transfer fees, with maybe a little on top for time involved. Either that or sit on the domain until it expires.