Is square (²) equal to 2?

[Fredo]

Hi,
I own a domain name that includes a 2, in the form of x2.ext (.ext replacing the extension and x the letter). I have just been contacted by the owner of the brand x² and he says that he has the right over my domain name x2. I am not sure what does the law says regarding this case. Considering it is a 2 characters domain, I would prefer to keep it...
Can someone help and let me know what to do and who is right?
Thanks.

 

[Theo]

Have you been using the domain using the "2" as an indicator of a square? If not, it'd be an interesting case for them, trying to prove it.

 

[Beachie]

x squared is generally written as x^2 not x2. if x = 10, x2 = 20 but x² = 100. i think you'd win a UDRP easily based on that argument

if the owner is emailing you, just ignore him and don't reply. he'll file a UDRP if he's serious (but don't tell him that! let him figure it out for himself). any idea what industry he's in? more importantly, does he have a trademark on "x²"? unless you're infringing on his trademark in the same industry, you shouldn't have a problem. but don't tell him that either. just ignore him.

 

[Theo]

He'll need some @@ for that

 

[domainah]

sounds more like someone is trying to scam you out of your domain, could be a new trend..after what happened with all the fake trademark registrations with the .eu domains I wouldnt be surprised if its one of those guys trying to see how far they can take their TMs, I see you are in France so maybe thats whats going on

 

[petrosc]

TM owners harassing people and trying to scam them into giving their assets to them should also be considered as criminals

Btw, his first move was to try to scam you, his next move will likely be to try to buy the domain from you

 

[Focus]

tell him to kiss your a$$ and break bread

 

[Dave Zan]

Does the party indeed have a trademark for its specific use?

How is the domain name currently being used?

Thanks for the math lesson, Beachie. Needed a refresher.

 

[Alan Glennon]

Definitely do not reply to the email. Make sure your contacts are all in order though, in case the person really believes they have a case-- and you are asked to defend via UDRP.

If you interpret their email as phishing (I do), you could report them to:
http://www.us-cert.gov/nav/report_phishing.html

 

[Duckinla]

Considering the popularity of two character domains in most any extension, it seems it would be hard to argue that you registered in bad faith. Certainly a company can't just claim characters to be their property. Whether or not You are using it in bad faith is a different question.

 

[Domagon]

If the complaint is legitimate, then I'd say do the following asap:

1. Add some more years to the registration, if it's set to expire in less than say 5 years; takes the prospect of it "dropping" out of the picture, and sends the message that the owner aggressively protects their assets.

2. Be sure to add a "contact" link ( don't explicitly say it's for sale, but instead say "inquire about this domain", etc) somewhere on the page.

3. Play hardball ... $1,000 minimum and perhaps much more ... basically, I'd say set a target price of what LN domains typically sell for in the particular TLD you have, plus a nice premium over and above that.

A TM claim on a LN domain is likely to be very weak ... definitely worth fighting and holding your ground - good luck

* edit: you don't specifically mention the TLD ... while that often doesn't matter much, it potentially could depending on the registry and other details, such as if the company has the same domain in other TLD(s)

Ron

 

[Theo]

A TM claim on a LN domain is likely to be very weak

Unless you're megaband U2

 

[Duckinla]

Unless you're megaband U2

Even U2 had inspiration for their name.

 

[jberryhill]

Does the party indeed have a trademark for its specific use?

How is the domain name currently being used?

ZZZzzzzzz..........

As Acro points out, there certainly can be a widely-known famous mark consisting of a letter and a number. If you are using "U2" in the context of the history of surveillance airplanes, that's one thing. If you are using "U2" for music, that's another thing.

There are plenty of famous two-character trademarks - VW, GE, GM.

So, let's say that O² was a famous brand of tampon. You register O2.com, and you start using it to sell tampons. Is there going to be a problem? Of course there is.

On the other hand, let's say you are using O2.com to sell Oxygen. Is there going to be a problem with the tampon people? No.

Trademark law is not a set of character manipulation rules.

 

[Fredo]

Thanks for your answers everyone.