Hi Just need some advice on a domain name that i own. I received an email from a company that deals or owns the product that i have the site about. They have told me that they want me to transfer the domain name to them or they will take legal action. I have since took the site down. The site in question was only an informational site about Tamiflu with adsense on it. surely i own the domain name and they can not force me just to hand it over to them ,can they? what should i do ? tell them to get lost, or tell them that if they want the domain name then they will have to buy it off me.
Took me 5 seconds to Google: http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisions/html/2006/d2006-0732.html Tell them to get lost and let us know what the response is
Obviously it's not your domain name but it illustrates the point. Tamiflu is a registered trademark so any domains with the trademark in it or any websites about it is a violation of their trademark and hence illegal. That tells you what you need to know. But if it's too complicated to but 2 and 2 together, you're best off getting profesisonal legal advice. In the end of the day, you do not own the right to use the Tamiflu trademark so your use of it is abusive and illegal. With AdSense on the page you are directly earning from their efforts to invest in their trademark. Dead simple court case, you don't stand a chance. But it won't ever get to court because the Wipo or Nominet will just hand it over to them.
TOPS30 is right. Your use is trademark infringement. They are under no obligation to purchase the domain from you, and attempting to sell it to them can be viewed as cybersquatting (which carries a fine up to $100K). Policy varies between trademark holders - some won't pay a penny, some will pay a nominal fee (like $25) just to simplify the process, some will seek treble legal costs and damages, including all income the site has ever generated. Most companies will not pay for a domain because it would only encourage people from registering every possible variation of a trademark and then making money by selling it back to the company. Considering the history TOPS30 posted, you can be pretty sure they are going to wind up taking the domain. You can either do nothing and hope they don't come after you for damages and their legal costs, or turn over the domain asap and limit your risk. Even turning over the domain does not prevent them from coming after you, but in most cases, this will end any potential problems.
If you were doing the usual trademark infringement I see, using someone's trademark and hoping people will come to your site to monetize, you've got some issues. I think that mjewel is right on target with this one. This doesn't sound like a case where you may have a legitimate use and some big company is trying to bully you into handing it over.