closed Homex.com

[ideajunkie]

Hey there,

So I have almost no experience selling domains (have sold just a few), and am struggling to determine a proper value for Homex.com, a domain I bought about 3 years ago.

The site's been coming together VERY SLOWLY as a niche homes-for-sale advertising play, but I get a lot of traffic from visitors looking for Homex.com.mx (which is a multi-billion dollar international corp.). It does strike me as fairly strange that they haven't tried to purchase it from me, at least to my knowledge. Of course that's not my exit strategy though! Eheh.

Anyhow, I'd really love and appreciate any thoughts as to the value of the domain from experienced domainers like yourselves, and if the price is right, I'm ready to sell...

Thanks,

Christian Hunter
Austin, Texas

 

[Theo]

I see you've tagged a "TM" onto the Homex logo; to do that you need to hold a pending trademark application with the USPTO. At the same time I am seeing 2 registered marks for Homex, 1 pending application for Homex and 1 pending application for Homex Design Center. On top of that, I found Homex to be a registered trademark in Mexico, to the owners of the homex.com.mx

 

[INVIGOR]

...

 

[WhoDatDog]

They can have trademarks all they want, and this site can draw traffic from whatever sites it wants. It is very close to being a generic term, as there are countless businesses that incorporate Home and Ex in their names and websites.

This isn't a domain name. It is a business, and thus an appraisal isn't necessary, really (but stand alone, the name would be worth thousands). As long as you aren't intentionally confusing the consumer into thinking they are at another site, then their claims are essentially merritless.

The bottom line is that there are pages and pages of sites on Google using some form of Homex in their name. It is likely not so distinctive as to be associated with any one company. The name is closer to Forex than it is to Kleenex, if you catch my drift. One is generic, while the other would be an obvious trademark infringement on ONE ENTITY.

I am not so sure that any one company can claim Homex as being theirs. There are possibly 100's of businesses using the word Homex in their names.

 

[Theo]

WTG - what an uneducated statement. I don't know where to begin. I suppose you can go and register a few "kleenex" domains if it's so generic (39 registered trademarks at the USPTO tell me otherwise).

Homex is a registered trademark not only in the US but also Mexico - if you need direct links let me know. Making careless and nonchalant statements such as "I am not so sure that any one company can claim Homex as being theirs" would explain why people need lawyers. It's not just the mark, it's the use of it: here we have Homex.com with no real trademark (the tm on the logo is not linked to a mark) competing in the same class with (R) owners. I mean, stupidity is self-explanatory.

 

[INVIGOR]

...

 

[Theo]

I have to add that Homex.co was registered by no other than the Mexican trademark holders, according to http://whois.co

That's another indication of mark protection.

 

[Onward]

Yeah...I think the value at this point may be a lawsuit....or at least a C & D Letter. It may be too late but I would take your site down....and put up something not in competition with the TM's...maybe a Home Exchange service (although I have not checked the TM's)...this may not be worth the time & effort though per your current use.

Otherwise, it seems that it is a matter of 'when' not 'if' - the TM holders come after you. I would look to sell it to someone who currently has a non competing use to the major TM holders...and I would do this pretty quickly.

---------- Post added at 11:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:09 PM ----------

Oh, I would also delete most of your initial post.

 

[WhoDatDog]

Quote: "here we have Homex.com with no real trademark (the tm on the logo is not linked to a mark) competing in the same class with (R) owners"

BINGO

Not to mention he clearly states "I get a lot of traffic from visitors looking for Homex.com.mx" which means his non-trademarked site, which was probably registered AFTER the Homex trademark, is IDENTICAL OR CONFUSINGLY SIMILAR.

I think the guy's just been lucky so far.

If there was no original intent to infringe, then it does not matter if the name is identical or confusingly similar. Homex, or Home Exchange is a term used by many busineses. Just like Utube.com got free traffic from YouTube.com. They are allowed to capitalize on that traffic, as long as they aren't trying to intentionally confuse visitors into believing that UTube.com is the same site as YouTube.com.

There has to be specific intent at the moment of registration, as well as being confusingly similar. When people think of Homex, they don't think of one particular company. In fact, 99 percent of the world doesn't recognize the term. However, there are at least 10's, and likely 100's of companies who use this term in their business, and so the burden of proof is on the complainant to prove specific intent to infringe on their particular site and trademark. Most every one of those busineses has a trademark of some kind for what they are doing, and they are all in the home business.

It is also the responsibility of the trademark holder to take reasonable measures to protect their trademark, so if they wanted to do that then they would have simply registered the dotcom. It is likely the dotcom was registered far in advance of the Homex.com.mx site, so there specific intent at registration fails at that point.

Here are just a few of the companies using the word.

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&source...IigPX54SfCQAAAKoEBU_QBlfo&fp=c61e53e7eda1c5a6

Don't let these fear-mongers talk you out of a good name. You could go after others just as easlily as they could cmoe after you. The name

---------- Post added at 11:12 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:59 PM ----------

http://www.homexsiding.com/

http://www.homexinc.com/

http://www.homex-sy.com/english/index.php

http://www.homex-inspections.com/

http://www.homex.co.za/

http://www.homex.com.sg/

http://www.homexbrasil.com.br/home.html

http://www.homexfinancial.com/#0


Just a few....it took me 3 minutes to find these. Nobody can have a strict monopoly on the word Homex. Every single one of these businesses deals with housing.

 

[Theo]

First of all, educating others about trademarks is not "fear mongering". Now, you can try to justify crime around the world as well but it's still crime and it only takes knocking on *your* door to realize it. We have specific registered trademarks - this fella has no trademark and you're advising him to go after others? And what do phonetic matches youtube/utube have to do in this case?

However, let's try WTD's approach - let's be free of all "fear mongering": ideajunkie, contact the Mexican guys and offer them the domain for sale - let's see how quickly they pay up or they take it to WIPO.

 

[INVIGOR]

...

 

[Onward]

If there was no original intent to infringe, then it does not matter if the name is identical or confusingly similar. Homex, or Home Exchange is a term used by many busineses. Just like Utube.com got free traffic from YouTube.com. They are allowed to capitalize on that traffic, as long as they aren't trying to intentionally confuse visitors into believing that UTube.com is the same site as YouTube.com.

There has to be specific intent at the moment of registration, as well as being confusingly similar. When people think of Homex, they don't think of one particular company. In fact, 99 percent of the world doesn't recognize the term. However, there are at least 10's, and likely 100's of companies who use this term in their business, and so the burden of proof is on the complainant to prove specific intent to infringe on their particular site and trademark. Most every one of those busineses has a trademark of some kind for what they are doing, and they are all in the home business.

It is also the responsibility of the trademark holder to take reasonable measures to protect their trademark, so if they wanted to do that then they would have simply registered the dotcom. It is likely the dotcom was registered far in advance of the Homex.com.mx site, so there specific intent at registration fails at that point.

Here are just a few of the companies using the word.

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&source...IigPX54SfCQAAAKoEBU_QBlfo&fp=c61e53e7eda1c5a6

Don't let these fear-mongers talk you out of a good name. You could go after others just as easlily as they could cmoe after you. The name

---------- Post added at 11:12 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:59 PM ----------

http://www.homexsiding.com/

http://www.homexinc.com/

http://www.homex-sy.com/english/index.php

http://www.homex-inspections.com/

http://www.homex.co.za/

http://www.homex.com.sg/

http://www.homexbrasil.com.br/home.html

http://www.homexfinancial.com/#0


Just a few....it took me 3 minutes to find these. Nobody can have a strict monopoly on the word Homex. Every single one of these businesses deals with housing.

www.homexbrasil.com.br/home.html - in your quick example seems to be the trademark holder...Kind of confusing I guess.

I think the term may be Reality Mongering....or trying to give real and useful info.

 

[Theo]

I think the term may be Reality Mongering....

Finally, a term that's not taken

 

[Onward]

Just filed the tm