My first IDN C&D

[madcamel]

OK,

I won't use the real domains, to avoid exposing myself to more risks.

I own menú.com.
They own menu.com and have TM on the term "menu" (without the accent).

Now they want me to give them menú.com.

Do you think I have a chance fighting this ?

My case:
1. They own TM on "menu", not on "menú".
2. "menú" is a generic word.
3. If they win, it means every ASCII domain owner can take the equivalent IDN domains of his ASCII domains in all languages.

Would appreciate any comment.

Idan

 

[domain newbie]

"spam"

 

[madcamel]

"spam"

These are not the real domains. Just examples. I don't own any of them.

 

[domain newbie]

..still "spam"

need to see the name, if it's generic- click spam, unless its "apple" or "orange" etc

 

[madcamel]

Yea. smart move. I'll do that. sure.

 

[Dave Zan]

You don't necessarily need to state the actual domain name here. If the party
in question is smart enough to search online, they might find your thread and
possibly use it against you.

Whether you have a chance or not will depend on a variety of things such as
current content of the domain name (if any), intended use, etc. Unfortunately
revealing such things online can also be risky.

 

[DNQuest.com]

There is no need to reveal domain names in these forums. You will see many of the established active posters won't ask. Sometimes it is better if people did not post them. So just because a domain is not listed does not mean it is not a valid question.

As with any domain TM claim, usage plays an important factor along with "similar" or "confusingly similar" marks. So first, could "menu" be concidered a TM. Though it was stated as "generic", that means nothing, is it descriptive? that is the question. If menu.com is a website of menus, there may not be protection for the menu name since that is what is being supplied. Now if "menu" was a Browser (I call dibs btw), there could be TM protection under software. Now, the spelling or "look" of the name. Using the example of Menu as a browser, and then you used menú.com in the software catagory, that could pose problems. Could it be "confusingly similar"? It could be.

Depending on the name, it could be concidered typosquatting. It would be the same as m1crosoft.com and using it for selling software.

 

[fab]

Quite similar to DNQuests's comments.

Based upon my TM lessons I got from JB I passed TM 101 here. My thoughts (disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer [nor do I earn that much], so don't consider this legal advice)

If the domain name is generic, they cannot get a tm on that specific topic, e.g., apple can be trademarked as a type of computer but not a fruit.

If you use the generic domain based upon it's generic meaning, then you are not infringing upon the tm.

As stated previously, if the IDN is confusingly similar to the tm, and you are using it in a similar way as the tm, then you would be infringing.

 

[madcamel]

Thank you all, very helpful.

 

[malmar2]

This was a recent accented IDN decision which found for the TM owner:
http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisions/html/2008/d2008-0140.html