Say what you own is Pizza-Boy.com and
Pizza Boy is a business and the term is TMd. What the two mods said is right, try using General-Nutrition-Center.com (
GNC, which is TMd), and that's three generic terms there. The fact that your two words are dictionary words or generic doesn't mean they cannot go after you, and in all likelihood they eventually will. The main concern is what you've been using the domain for since you acquired it, there's the
fair use concept in IP law so if using it doesn't interfere with the TM holders' line of business you may have a defense, and pretty much that's the point.
I'm not sure there even exists a statute of limitations in IP law for these purposes, I don't recall ever reading about a guy some co went legally after and they just couldn't get him because the statute of limitations had run out. I'm sure there's a B&W answer to this and I bet it is that there isn't any. I cannot tell if you acquired the domain after the TM was granted. If the TM was obtained before you bought the domain that works against you. If the TM came later it helps you but that's no guarantee you'll get to keep it. Also, check the original date the domain you own was first regged. Sometimes the domain was first handregged say in 2001, the TM was obtained in 2004 and you bought the domain in 2007. You could use the original registration date in your favor if that's the case even if you bought it after the TM was granted. You may want to sell it using the same auction site where you bought it, I have a situation resembling yours in the Domain Lawyers forum and that's what I'm considering doing, if it was OK for the auction service to sell me a TMd name then it's probably OK for me to sell it there too (I'm assuming you didn't have any knowledge of the existing TM when you bought the domain, I didn't)
The webpage you have right now is extremely important, from what you say you can't monetize it without infringing on the TM owners' space, and they will use that against you, in fact you're almost certain to lose it. Unpark the thing or direct it to a neutral site such as a
for sale form. I'd try to sell it asap for any money I could get if I were you, ie before the TM holders could get wind of this. As to offering it to those TM owners of the same non-hyphenated term I just don't know, it's certainly risky. Did you pay a lot for it ? If you didn't then that makes all the difference, don't lose any sleep over this.
Pizza Boy may be a franchise and a TMd name, just to go to my original example, and a domainer may own Pizza-Boy.com, so looking from the outside, don't you see the conflict ? It's pretty stark. Good luck anyway, domains and TMs need to learn to coexist, you may stay clear of TMs but you may own a cousin of a known TM, like with spelling variations or transposing of the terms, and you may not even be aware of it. None of us can get away from it completely :-(
Hi Guys,
I have a domain I'm thinking of selling on, I have owned it for over seven years and have never had any contact of any kind from the trademark owners. The thing is the domain is xxxxxx-xxx.com and the two words either side of the hyphen are generic so I'm curious if possibly a) those generic words cannot be trademarked so I'm safe or b) I have owned it for so long some kind of statute of limitations has passed and I am legally entitled to be the owner. If either of these are accurate and I am legally entitled to own and sell this name what would be the best way to sell it? Direct to the operators of the same site without the hyphen or Sedo etc. The domain is the correct spelling of a major franchise.
Thanks a million in advance,
John
