Ok for any one who's from Australia you will know a company called Telstra, they are a multi billion dollar company and is one of the biggest phone, internet and they have their fingers in basically any thing to deal with making money off telecommunications in both australia and most of ASIA they have like a monopoly in this country on telecommunications, they have billion at their finger tips they are like google in terms of the size of the company. So last year when the mobi domain names were released I snapped up a few really hot names, some relating to Telstra and their new mobile phone based websites, probly not a wise move at frst but I thought this was totally ok due to the fact that companies had the deadline to purchase mobi domain names before the public did, hence the fact Telstra should have got in early but they didn't. So today I get a email from a patent and trademark office in Melbourne, Australia. Reason been I had one of their so called "trademarked" domains on SEDO for sale for $3000, small change for Tesltra...They said all this stuff how I was profiting off the domain name (dont even have any traffic to it) and misleading Telstra customers to believe I own the company or some jibberish. Thing is I even have some services via Telstra at my place they have also quoted this in the email they know my name they knwo I use their services blah blah blah... Today they send me this nice letter from the lawyers office which is working for telstra and offer $150 for the domain name!!!! If I don't accept this $150 they will probly destroy me in a court of law because they wont even hesitate to throw like 1 billion on the case. What grounds do I stand on, in this case? What should I do take the $150 or just sit on this domain because if mobi domains get any more popular tesltra will be DIEING for this one, becuase it revolves around on their their biggest multi million online mobile phones based websites, I can really understand why they are after this one....... They said I have until 5pm on the 12th JULY to make my decision to take $150 cash or receive a law suite. I know I am probly gone... So I might just take the cash.... What do you guys think, even if I take Telstra to court I will never win.....I just think as a company they should have got into the mobi domain boat earlier and not waited until after the public release then started throwing around the law suites. here is some more information on the trademark issues with mobis and how long companies had to claim their domains. Jonathan Robinson, chief operating officer at NetNames, said: "Any organisation which has yet to secure its .mobi trademarks has left itself wide open to abuse from cyber-squatters, domain name speculators and competitors." Neil Edwards, chief executive at dotMobi, added: "We are creating a link between mobile operators, internet content providers and the millions of mobile users seeking a consistent, reliable and enjoyable internet experience." The new domain, aimed specifically at mobile devices, has been available to trademark holders since May. Over 12,000 names have already been snapped up. mobi launch date late September 2006 .mobi open to Trademarks until 22nd September June 29, 2006 Since the Limited Industry Sunrise launch on 22nd May there has been significant interest in .mobi. It is estimated that over 5,000 domain names were registered during the first two days of the sunrise period for trademark holders. This indicates that the integration of internet and mobile applications is evident and represents a significant opportunity to reach on-the-go online users with content made for mobile phones. The current Trademark Sunrise registration phase is open for qualifying registrations until 22nd September when the Landrush and General Registration follow. Registration update Melbourne IT CBS has achieved excellent success rates for clients in applying for .mobi names during the first two Sunrise phases. Judging from the applications Melbourne IT CBS has received during the first two Sunrise phases, we anticipate the interest in .mobi to continue and increase going into the Landrush and General Registration. Key date changes The registry has changed the roll out dates for .mobi registration periods. • Trademark Sunrise completion - Friday, 22nd September • Landrush starts - Tuesday, 10th October • General Registration starts - Monday, 16th October Trademark phase still open The current Trademark Sunrise phase is still open until 22nd September and Melbourne IT CBS continues to receive interest from clients. Melbourne IT CBS has already commenced helping our clients plan for the Landrush and General Registration. Information on our .mobi services for the Landrush and General Registration is planned to be released in August or September.
Yeah I am thinking the same thing.. $150 or .....court but they really have stuffed up, they didn't register the domain in time liek most other companies did, they have just come in at the later moment and started throwing around legal action. I mean $3000 USD the price I was offering for Telstra probly makes that in a second they make billions a year in profit....
if they were gonna take you to court, they would have filed papers already. Real corporate attorneys don't do weak threats like that. Don't host anything on the page, just leave the domain registered nad pointing to nothing, and ask for more money.
You do not know Telstra much then. Connections, you're in a bit over your head here. Telstra wins everytime it challenges anyone using their name in a domain. http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisions/html/2000/d2000-0003.html http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisions/html/2000/d2000-0423.html http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisions/html/2000/d2000-0919.html http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisions/html/2000/d2000-0999.html http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisions/html/2002/d2002-0952.html Whatever you think to be reasonable does not mean much if they are not listening. You can try to ask one more time for the higher monetry value, and basically get rid of the domain regardless of what the response is.
I'm no legal expert (I'm sure I only barely know what the word legal means ) but I think in your situation, you probably don't stand much of a chance in court. The way I see it is this: The domain name was still available, which is fair enough, they hadn't seen fit to register it. Maybe they just didn't realise it was available until too late, who knows? It was fair game to be purchased by anyone else. But the way they might take it is that you purchased the domain with the sole intention of waiting until they came along wanting to purchase it and then you could name your price. If you could argue that you had a valid reason for purchasing the domain name (probably unlikely) then things might work out. And you said it yourself I think you should quit while you're ahead! This article might help you out.. http://www.bizhelp24.com/business-law/an-overview-of-domain-names-3.html
Initially it was their mistake for not registering the name but looking at the current scenario I would say accept whatever they give and forget about it. Unless you have money to pour down the lawyers back and ready for all the hassles of the court.
You will have to pay thousands to lawyers and court charge if they sue you so better take the 150$ they offered and run , atleast you're getting 8 times the money you put into buying this domain .
It is not their mistake at all, just because you own a trademark doesnt mean you have a legal obligation to buy up every single domain name possibly related to it. As you are trying to profiteer from the domain name you dont have a leg to stand on and $150 is a perfectly reasonable offer. My previous employer (a multi national bank) had 20 solicitors that did nothing but seize domains back from people like yourselves and making any offer was unusual, the majority would simply get a 7 days notice of court proceedings and a bill for the solicitors time normally around us$500 an hour.
Thing is I didn't think this domain was even trademarked because its a very weird word, in question here almost a slang term, its not like its the companies name that would be a very stupid reg and I don't register junk domains. I still want to check out for sure its 100% trademarked before handing it over because they seem to be very nice about this and offering all these different things to acquire the name. As per their documents the trademark was lodged in October 2006 and I registered this domain in November-December period 2006 so its not like I am registering a well known domain name here. I will be taking some legal advice to see what my options are here but atm I don't think I will be taking Telstra on in court.
it's very odd for them to make any offer at all, are you positive it's Telstra and not an elaborate scheme to nab a great domain? If it is them, they do not have to register it if you are profiteering from their trademark (big "if" for a weird word) in order to be protected...if you look at your posting with the following phrase "left itself wide open to abuse from cyber-squatters, domain name speculators and competitors." Unfortunately, you would be the abuser in a court of law.
i got an idea....say you mispelled telstar.mobi lol i wouldnt have a clue what to do id probably take the money. unless your getting good money from it
the domain in question does not even have Telstra or any misspelling, Its a slang word used for one of their huge new mobile based projects. Basically they need this domain because their mobile site revolves around it, the new mobile site which they have spent 20 million on advertising for would be worthless with out this domain hence the fact they probly do need it. I have sold a few decent domains in the past some for XX,XXX so I am not new to domains. Just I didn't think this was trademarked at the time of purchase, $150 isn't really that much but I think I will take the money because even trying to fight Telstra would be a poor choice to make. and registering telstar.mobi would be ok becuase their is a car named the "telstar"
You'v got time till 12elv so, take your time, check on trademark and if you can, consult a lawyer that works mostly on cases like this. If you already find that the domain is trademarked..forget about the lawyer, get the $150, go in a bar and get drunk on their name.
And what made you think it wasn't "trademarked" that time you registered the domain name? A "formal" trademark registration is not a requirement. OTOH, you made a wise decision to accept their offer. That $150 is how many times your initial investment?
The way I see it, you registered the domain in hopes of getting Telstra to pay for it at a later stage. If I were you, I would try to negotiate the price a little bit and take the money. If you go to court, you stand to not only loose the domain (because it was trademarked in October and you registered it a month later), you also stand to loose a few thousand dollars as attorney fee. Better take the small profit and live in peace.
Go on, I would take the money and run. Dont risk it, take the 8 times more than you paid for it, and like someone said above go out and get drunk on them Personally, if someone else was going to even considering buying the domain I think they would take into consideration all the legal troubles from buying such a name and not buy it in the first place for your $3,000 at Sedo. Take what they offer you. Let us know how it goes.
Its not the money I am concerned about here, $150 isn't much at all to me. This domain could possibly be worth $500,000 to this company. Because like I said their whole online mobile network needs this domain. Hence the fact they are trying to be nice with me and see my outcome. I just called the people who sent me the information, Also this was sent via EMAIL as well which is another thing I find a bit sus, usually when I have had dealing with professional lawyers they send things via fax or mail. Also They are closed on Saturday for business hmmm. This could infact be a hoax to try and get this domain of me because like I said it could be worth 500k range to the right end user.
Ok I just used the current website to see if this name/term is trademarked - http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/trademarks/search_index.shtml and found no reference to it at all. Are they are more Australian sites to search for trademarks. This is looking more and more like a scam to me, sending documents via email - un-professional for such a large corporation. A phone number that does not work? No listing of the trade mark on the government website. I will be taking legal advice on Monday thats for sure.
What domain is it exactly? Does it related to their "next-g" network (the piece of rubbish which is falsely advertised to be made believe its really good and unique and only by telstra and is found nowhere else in the world) I would email back, saying okay, please show me what trademarks I am breaking and I'll happily give you the domain