Hello; My dad has owned the domain willysjeep.com (I have the domain off-line at this moment due to changing hosting companies) for about 10 years now. The name Willys Jeep was used by Willys Overland Corporation for a line of Jeeps, the last vehicles produced with the Willys Jeep name were made in 1965. The name Willys-Overland started being used for a parts business in 1975. According to the Willys-overland web site, they are a separate business that is new company not part of the company that owned and made Willys Jeep. (information was found here: http://www.willysoverland.com/index.php/WO/faq_answer/same-willys-overland/ ). My dad has made copies of Willy Jeep advertisements and literature from the 40's-60's and sold it on the web site for the past 10 years. No one has contested the sale or publishing of this material, however, I has always suspected that it could be violating copyright laws. Keeping in mind that this site has been online for the past 10 years, selling copies of manuals, ads, and literature, I am considering re-creating and expanding the site. The site currently gets a couple thousand visitors a month, which are fairly unproductive due to poor site design. There is significant traffic for the search words "Willys Jeep" that would make this a worthwhile project. By it's very nature, the site needs to make use of the manuals, advertisements, and sales literature from the Willys Jeep. I hate to even mention this, because I know that just because someone else is getting away with something doesn't make it legal, but there is a very substantial web site about Willys Jeep that is setup here: http://www.film.queensu.ca/cJ3B/ that web site makes extensive use of copied ads and literature. I have 2 concerns; 1. Copying old ads, sales lit, etc.: I understand the copyright laws were different prior to 79 in regards to copyright notices. If ads from magazines, sales literature, etc did not have a copyright notice, and they were created prior to 79, are they still protected? 2. Trademark: Is there a very high likely hood of anyone claiming infringement, either on us publishing / copying their material or on a company trademark infringement (by using the name willysjeep) at this point, since the company abandoned the name in 1965? Would they* have have given up the right to this trademark since they have not defended it in the past 10 years that we have been using the name? *who "they" are isn't clear to me, I can't ascertain if the rights to Willys Jeep were ever transferred to another company or if they were abandoned completely when the line of Jeeps was discontinued in 1965. Based on what I have seen as "accepted practice" on many other web site for this type of material (sales literature, manuals, etc.) I am inclined to think that no one in the industry has a problem with these sites, or they would have previously taken action. -- But very much hate to rely on what I am inclined to think, and would much prefer to operate based on the facts. As mentioned in question 1 above, I am not even sure if we are violating any copyright or not. I've searched the public copyright.gov and trademark database, and there were no trademarks or copyrights registered that were shown online for Willys Jeep, but that only goes back 30 years. Thanks very much in advance for any advice or resources you can offer. j
Copyrights are automatic and don't need a copyright notice but different rules can apply for works created before 1978. You would need to find out if the works were actually registered. "Jeep" is a trademark owned by DaimlerChrysler - they also have a trademark on "Willys" in class 028. Your domain would be subject to a trademark infringement suit from DaimlerChrysler as it contains their "Jeep" trademark. Willys-Overland could also have a claim as their mark appears in the domain and their usage predates the domain registration and usage. The fact that you have owned the domain for 10 years gives you no legal advantage. It is either infringement or it isn't. Trademark disputes are very expensive to take through the courts. If a large company has even a remotely plausible claim, they will win by default in the vast majority of cases as the smaller party isn't going to spend hundreds of thousands, perhaps over a million, to fight an infringement claim. Even if you win, you get the domain and are out attorney fees. If you lose, you can be ordered to pay treble the other parties legal fees as long as their mark was registered. The upside is small, the downside is huge. You might assume that since no one has contacted you in 10 years there may be no interest in taking the domain - that may or may not be the case. I've seen companies do a 180 when there is a management change - and expanding the site might also put you on their radar. If you are going to expand the business, I would look to transfer it to an entity that would afford you some liability protection (llc or inc) and understand that you could have legal issues from a trademark infringement claim at any time. I would certainly consult an attorney that deals with intellectual property to get their advice.
Thank you for all of the very helpful information. Based on all of the information, and I realize there are numerous potential legal problems with pursuing this site. I am putting this project on hold. I will be putting my efforts into my others sites that don't have any of these copyright / trademark issues. Thank You again, j