Curious as to thoughts on this... are they really within their rights to make this demand based on my domain name? No big deal if I have to take it down.. as it's a new site and barely out of the box.. but I just thought I was within my rights with the domain name. Thoughts?.... Here's the letter I received:
snap on is name brand of tools. they probably got this notice like the ones i get "someone has registered a name similar to yours" You should just let it go, and if you dont, they may wish to persue you futher, and they are right, using the words snap on anywhere in your domain could be misleading, and take some of their traffic. I do not think you will win this one.
No, you're in clear breach of the trademark. This is one you want to let go as soon as possible before you get your fingers burned. Snap-on have an obligation to defend their Trademark otherwise they lose it, and they will pursue you with all legal means at their disposal.
If your site has nothing to do with tools then you might be okay, it really depends on what your site is about.
yeah, its always tricky with domains names that are trademarked. just not a fight thats worth fighting, IMO
I honestly don't think it matters with this one. Defending yourself against Snap-on's lawyers will cost a small fortune. Not worth it.
It depends on what his site is about don't you think? There are a lot of uses of the words "snap on" that are in no way infringing on their mark. As I said, it really depends on the content of his site and whether or not he is trading on their good will or just independently using similar words.
As I said, I don't think it matters with this one: snap-on-toolz.com. I don't think this is one they can ignore or forget about and Snap-on would probably go after it regardless of what was on the site, meaning it will turn into an expensive business defending it. I honestly don't think it's worth the trouble.
It hardly matters if you are right or wrong, you pretty much have to do what they say unless you are prepared for an expensive legal battle. If you are not going to meet their demands contact a trademark lawyer.
just putting my legal mind two cents in here, it depends on why you registered it and what you intend to use it for. it looks like it could be a satire.....but doubt it falls under the safe harbor provisions of the fair use doctrine
thats unlikely...no matter what is on the site, his domain could be a distraction, with others not even knowing what is on the site, they could click on the domain thinking it is a snap on product... thus taking customers away from their own website.
Definitely not worth the trouble. The domain name is in direct competition with their trade mark name. They have expensive lawyers that will take action regardless if it costs them more than what it is worth. These types of cases occur quite frequently and normally the company who is taking action against a trade mark infringement wins the case.