Need Advice

[a2zofb2b]

I recently registered a domain name and developed the contents for the same.

The site caters to the local community, there is a Yahoo group with the same name, which is providing email service / announcement regarding local events ( I am a member of that group).

Recently, I receive a friendly email from the moderator, saying that I should shutdown the site (or change my domainname) because I am using his idea for the domain name.

To my knowledge, the name is not trade marked or service marked, but since I am part of the Yahoo group with the same name, I was aware of the Name.

I am reluctant to giveup the domain name, unless he shows me the trademark.

My question is can he get the trademark for the same because of the first usage?

Is it advisable to hold on to the domain?

Thanks

 

[beatz]

Well i'm not a lawyer but i believe it's like this:

As it is as you said a Yahoo-Group, i don't think the moderator can have a TM on it since he doesn't *own* anything of the Yahoo property - he is just a signed up member there same way as any Yahoo member.
So the *only* right he *might* have is a COPYRIGHT on the term, but no TM.
Moderating a Yahoo Group is prolly not even enough to prove a sign for first usage when it comes to copyright - and sure it doesn't mean anything in terms of TM applications.

Remember - this guy (prolly) doesn't own Yahoo.

 

[DNQuest.com]

I believe beatz has a point. Of course, we don't know what the name is, so it is hard to help farther.

 

[INFORG]

I think you would be OK legally, but morally don't you feel like you did kind of reg it unfairly since you are more savvy about domain names? Might be a nice thing just to retain ownership and forward it to the Yahoo group? Since you are a member of the community, I think you should probably try to work it out with him - even though he is stipid for not registering the name.

I wouldn't even bring up the TM issue with him. Just tell him that what you did is perfectly acceptable/legal and while you don't have to do anything for him, in the interest of good community you'll try to work something out.

 

[a2zofb2b]

Thanks for all the reply.

To answer 2gajgops point
"but morally don't you feel like you did kind of reg it unfairly since you are more savvy about domain names?"

I do not feel I unfairly registered it because the domain has been available for over a year.
(The previous owner who registered much before the newsgroup was started had let it expire. )
Even now the Moderator of newsgroup just want my site shutdown and he is not interested in using the domain name.

Not that it generates any traffic, but I feel I could provide a better service to the local community through my website.

 

[Jack Gordon]

competition is a good thing.

 

[jberryhill]

Beatz has a point, and you might want to take a look at Yahoo terms of service. I doubt that they would leave open the possibility of someone obtaining a proprietary interest in something which they control. Figure - what if, for whatever reason, Yahoo decided to discontinue providing that service, and then someone else came along and started another Yahoo group using the now-defunct name. I sincerely doubt Yahoo would leave themselves open to being caught in the middle of something like that, but without careful review of their TOS it is an open question.

He would not have a copyright on a name or a short expression, since copyright is not available for such things.