domain legal questions

[flybuzz]

Hi, I am pretty new with domain legal stuff. Let's say you register domain made up example:

hiltondeals.com and park the page with ads on hilton hotels. Does that get you in trouble?

Another example if you get wow.com get park the page and put ads about world of warcraft, do you get in trouble too?

How about MIT.com and you put ads about MIT.edu ?

If you aquire a domain thisismycompany.com which consist of fairly generic words, would you offer to sell the domain to this-is-my-company.com or would that count as cybersquatting?

Are most companies pretty laid back on going after you if the company aren't too big? If they do, do you get in trouble or can you just immediately pull the parked pages?

 

[Zona]

Flybuzz I am not an attorney but here is my understanding of the points you mention.

1. Hiltondeals.com. Yes that can get you in trouble. In short, you are using a TM'd term (Hilton) to make money for yourself. Potentially they could come after you for the domain and "damages" ($). It would also be an issue if you set-up the site Hiltondeals.com and put up ads for Marriott, Westin, Sheraton, etc.

2. Wow.com That is such a generic term that I think you would be fine. The term "warcraft" is so generic that I can not imagine you would have any issues with this one.

3. MIT.com and MIT.edu. You could have some issues but what kind of ads would you put up for an educational institution?

4. Would need a specific examples.

5. Companies vary widely in their tactics for going after TM infringement and cybersquatting. Even if you pull a parked page or cancel your domain registration you can have issues for the "past damages" you caused a company.

Again - I'm not an attorney and I would suggest you consult your attorney about the above issues.

 

[Ian]

In addition to what has been said, another way of settling a dispute over a name is thru a UDRP which involves hiring the services of a legal counsel ($2000) plus damage compensation to the complainant if respondent loses the name. Be cautious with TMed domains!

 

[flybuzz]

So what's the penalty that could happen to you besides monetary damage? Would there be some kinda of record on you? Would that mess you up if you are looking for a new job?

 

[DNQuest.com]

Every example is a textbook definition of cybersquatting. I would strongly suggest searching"trademark" and "tm" is the search box in this forum. Every question will be answered there.

I will address the WoW.com though. Yes, that is cybersquatting. WoW in itself is generic, but using it for World of Warcraft as the content means you entered in TM territory. Usage plays an important part in deciding UDRPS..

Now to answer what is the worse that could happen..

loss of the domain
loss of all revenue generated
punitive damages
payment of legal fees (for both sides)
Lanham Act penalty up to $100,000.00
labeled a cybersquatter and that can be used against you in future disputes...

So ask yourself, what is your risk/reward tolereance?

 

[McDot]

Right!

Keep hands off Trademarks!!!

Now my questions to how you guys handle some "delicate" names.

I see all over the DNForum domains like:
(just examples)

NissanTrucks
MyloMobile
HyundayCars
HondaNews
AmazonBooks

on sale. Just to mention a few.
In my opinion, all Trademark issues!!!

Where do you draw the line?

 

[flybuzz]

I do agree with the fact we should be very careful from trademark issues. But if we stay away from trademark 100% and if all generics are taken, what is left in this business?

 

[DNQuest.com]

All the newcomers are at a disadvantage, I will admit that, but if you do your research, there is still a goldmine out there. If you research "trademark" and "tm" in the search bar, you will see the pros/cons of TM domains, including hints on how you handle them. Remember Domains TMs are a grey area and it is up to the TM holder or domain owner to present a black/white area. What this means is usage, usage, usage. That is the bottom line.

BTW- just becuase TM names are for sale does not mean it is legal to do so. And it is only illegal if you get caught and called on it.

 

[Dale Hubbard]

It's what you DO with the domain that matters most. If you blatantly use a TM to profit from the name directly, you're in trouble. If you build a discussion theme about a company's products/services which doesn't involve direct competititive income for you, then you could well be on solid ground. It's hard to generalise. You could take wow.com and do something completely different with it and I have no doubt that Blizzard wouldn't be able to do a thing. It's all a question of strategy given any particular domain. As DNQ suggests above; "usage, usage, usage".

I've used this as an example here many times, but go check out www.paypalsucks.com for a classic example of what *can* be done with a very obvious TM.

 

[flybuzz]

Nice site, but paypal can go after it if it wants to right?

 

[Dale Hubbard]

It's been up for eons and of course PayPal/eBay are aware of it. It's in the 'critique' category which as I understand it, is allowed under certain conditions.

 

[DNQuest.com]

Paypal did go after the domain and lost on the grounds of "fair usage" and free speech under the constitution. Notice there is no ads on it except for the opinion of the next best alternative (grey area).