Hi there, I was just wondering where I would stand on this. Basically, I own a domain name which has a large corporation's name in it and before I started any sort of development on it. I emailed their legal team and asked if it would be ok to develop it into a site. They said they have no issues with me doing that, so long that I state to the users that the site is not official and is not affiliated with the company in any way, shape or form, which I have clearly done so in the footer of the site. Anyway, three months down the line, the company are NOW asking me to drop the domain/hand over the domain after giving me their blessing to use the domain. I feel outrageous now because I have spent THOUSANDS, in SEO, website design and attracting a strong userbase of the site. I was wondering do I have any foot to stand on if they decide to take any legal action? I see have the email to prove that they said I could use the domain name/site. Let me just add, this corporation are NOTORIOUS when it comes to filling trademark disputes when people use their name in domain names.. thanks
Well i would suggest you to contact a lawyer or a legal issues consultant and ask them. It would cost you a little but they will help you. If you have the letter where they allow you to do so, i think you should be good.
Cashwave pretty much covered it, except that there are some lawyers who do offer initial free consultation. OTOH, I agree that unless you have some documented proof of what was said (e.g. email stating that), your chances aren't good. Moving forward, though, you might want to ask any corporation before registering a domain name bearing their (possible) trademark. More so if you're looking to virtually "ride" on their trademark popularity.
I have actual email proof of the corporation stating that I can use the site. So hopefully this will be enough to back me up.
I wouldn't talk to a lawyer and waste your money. I would just email them back with a screenshot of the attached email stated that you were allowed to use it and say F-off.
LOL, DEADLY. Well they haven't got back to me yet so I don't want to say anything and they start proceedings haha, but yea, if they do take it any further such as getting any wipo disputes or my registrar/hosting provider contacts me about this. I'll give them the Winston Churchill thumbs up.
I assume the first thing you did was reply to their demand raising the point that you had previously been given permission to use the domain? Assuming you have done that, how did they respond? WebDev
I do not see how that will help.... You honestly do not have any written agreement/contract in stone. without some written agreement, then I see no reason why they could not revoke what they sent you earlier.... I do see where you are coming from, you asked, you got permission, now they have changed their mind.... unless you have some written agreement to say they could not change the terms of their permission status.... but I am not an atty, so I can not say who is right or wrong, and who is to say they will take more action since they sent you permission....
If your domain is that important, then you need to deal with this, and put this to matter to bed ASAP.... They may just wait til your domain becomes even more valuable, then one day you find the rug is no longer under your feet. Ignoring this, and thinking you are safe just because they may not go after you now is not really the way to go...
Lol, it doesn't really matter how well dressed a man is or how formal they act. If they agreed before than they are screwed. They can whine all they want but in reality they don't stand a chance in court. I have done it before and I'm sure I'll do it again. I've been formally threatened and replied "go to hell" with my evidence and nothing ever came to my door that was a major problem.
There are a few issues to consider. I would speak to an attorney before doing anything. You say you wrote their legal team to ask for permission and it was granted but if you did not give them anything in exchange it is not a contract where both sides are bound. It is just permission that they granted and I see no reason they can't revoke it. I do think that email giving you permission to use it would prevent you from being liable for any damages for anything you have done up to now but would not necessarily allow you to use it going forward. An enforceable contract requires both sides to give something. It seems like you gave nothing and they gave you a right to use the name. That is not something that I think you can enforce unless you gave them something in consideration. On the other hand, you acted in reliance on their granting you permission and spent money. I am not sure that would give you a right to use the name forever, but it might give you some right to use it for a period of time. The only really bad advice being offered is to tell them to fuck off. Only an unprofessional idiot who did not care about it would do something like that. This is not a black and white legal issue and you really should speak to an attorney so that they can review the email in question and give you some advice on your options at this point.
I am not a lawyer but I have read the briefs from a few UDRP cases and I think that you are not in the wrong here and that if you took it to court you would win. In order for them to seize the domain, they have to prove three things, one of which is that you registered the domain in bad faith. The fact the you asked them for permission is pretty convincing evidence that there was no bad faith. Without bad faith, they would not win the domain from you under the UDRP. Of course that legal battle would be expensive, so you should probably start by consulting a lawyer and together writing them a letter explain why you are in the right. Your situation has some similarities to a case involving the domain kurtcobain.com in which Courtney Love (who claims rights to the "Kurt Cobain" name) gave someone permission to register the domain and then changed her mind. The case was dismissed. Look up Courtney Love v. Brooke Barnett.
I did not do that. I've ignored them. The deadline date to sign and return the document was the 4th of may. By not responding, this may be a good move or turn out dreadfully badly, only time will tell I guess. Even if it was not set in stone and no official contract was signed, the email is sufficient proof to back me up in court if this were to go ahead. You are right, im considering my options at the moment and seeing what do to do. Best to sort this out then leave it until it's too late. LOL, Your right, they haven't got back to me as of yet, I was meant to sign the document on the 4th of may and cease control of the domain but I haven't done anything. Im thinking of waiting it out and see what happens next, if they email again and say something down of the lines of: "You have failed to respond to the requests to cease control of the domain, you have blah blah this amount of time, or our next course of action will be" then I will show them the email proof of this and tell them, take me to court because I think I've got a pretty good chance of retaining this site considering you've given me permission in the first place to use the domain name and i've spent thousands upon developing it. Yea, i'm trying to find some proper legal advice as we speak.. Fingers cross this email proof will be enough. Yea read that case and it's given me hope that with the email evidence, they will throw this one out. Because the domain name is quite unique and attracts a big audience. Also, what about ads on the site, even though they've given me permission to use the domain name, their is ads on the site, I know if there are trademark domains and their ads on the site, the trademark owner stands a good chance of filing a UDRP and getting the domain but why do people think in my case? Considering they've given me permission...
So some underling emails you that yeah use the domain. They have lawyers that will rip to shreds that email. End of story. Again, I tell people, never reg a domain that is a TM!!!!!
If there are especially ads of competing products/services, that spells trouble with a capital T. They may have given you permission to use that domain, but I doubt they gave you permission to, say, use it to make money off of their trademark. It depends on specifics. That's why only an attorney with real-world experience is the only one who can truly say. If/When you do contact some, though, be sure to state the domain name and give as many specifics as you can to them so they can give a more accurate picture.
Even if they gave you permission to use their trademark, they can revoke it assuming there wasn't a specific time agreement. They also don't have to file a UDRP, they can just sue you. You don't want to fight them in court - you would be looking at spending six figures or more in a full blown trial. It just isn't worth the expensive to fight a deep pocket over something like this.
You own the website...I mean unless you are imitating the company directly and/or stealing their content there's not much they can do.