Can trademark holder seize my domain if I own it in good faith?

[midnightraider]

Some time back I registered the domain www.nhs.info with the thought of developing a little information website about the history of the NHS (Britain's National Health Service) in the future when I got some time.

I've been contacted by the NHS, informing me that the UK's Department for Health has a registered trademark for the term 'NHS'. They say that by registering the domain name www.nhs.info I am infringing the Department's trademark.

They also claim that the domain name is confusing internet users (although there is no website - it's just a domain name that's been registered).

I have not used this domain name in bad faith.

I have honest plans for it.

Moreover they had the opportunity to 'reserve' this domain name, if they wanted to, through the processes set up by ICANN to allow trademark holders to 'reserve' names if they wanted to. They didn't do that.

So I just bought a domain name in good faith. I want to use it when I am ready to. Can a trademark holder, in these circumstances, just take a domain name off me?

I have made no attempt at all to confuse anyone. I just bought the domain on the open market.

Are domain names the intellectual property of a specific trademark holder, giving them the right to seize someone else's domain, when the present registrant has no malicious or bad faith intentions?

 

[Gerry]

Funny post.

Get ready to be slammed.

I have honest plans for it.

Gotta love this defense.

 

[copper]

Assuming UK has freedom of speech...
Put up a landing page that says "National Health Service Sucks" and write why.
If you don't want heat, write "I love National Health Service" and write why.

Or, make landing page with...
NHS - National Hillbillies Society
and put up some Hillbilly pics

They can NOT claim NHS is only for their use.
There are 100 meanings if not 1,000s for NHS.
Tell them go after .com, .net, .org...

 

[jberryhill]

Assuming UK has freedom of speech...
Put up a landing page that says "National Health Service Sucks" and write why.

This is why the UDRP specifically refers to legitimate rights "prior to notification of a dispute."

What you do after receiving a c&d is not terribly helpful, except in the narrow situation where you change something you were not aware of as a courtesy.

 

[actnow]

Checking wayback, I didn't find any stored websites so I'm not sure what you were
displaying before the knock on the door.

And, at this point, the domain is not resolving.

Also, remember what you say on the forums "may" be seen by NHS's lawyers if they know where to look.

First listing -
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=nhs.info+dnforum.com&aq=f&oq=

 

[domaingenius]

I noticed that they applied for a word only, "NHS" ,trademark (they already
have other NHS tm from 1997) in June 2003 and your reg states Nov 2003.
Doesnt look good from that side but will depend on your useage.

DG

 

[mibworld]

If the trademark predates your registration, as seems to be the case, you'll most probably lose a dispute, mainly because you don't have any alternative legitimate (from the point of view of the UDRP) use for the name.

Your intention to establish a site "about the history of the NHS (Britain's National Health Service)" only make things worse, as it relates your registration of the name directly to the trademark. If you had established a site with a totally different theme before receiving the c&d letter things may have been different. All of this IMHO (I'm not an expert).