TM - What could happen?

[pascal]

Suppose you own a domain that is trademarked. You park it at sedo and collect some revenue.
What is the worst that could happen if the domain gets claimed by the TM holder and you cooperate? And are you entitled to a fee at all?
Thanks.

 

[johnn]

The worst thing can happen is you will lose the domain.

I was in the TM problem with a big company (Dell). I have a site with ton of traffic and the legal department contacted me and asked me to shut it down.

Not a big deal if you listen to them and shut down.

It's a big deal if you want to fight. You'll lose any how.

It's money talk.

John,

 

[inflames]

i agree with john, the best thing would be to close it down . however some companys will just try to bully you around saying that they have a trademark - check the TM office to make sure. it is a money game with them and chances are they have more money then you will ever see , if you have a domain that you really really think is no violating TM than fight it , otherwise just let it go and close it down JMO

 

[Jeff]

If you own a domain name that you know is trademarked (never a wise move, IMHO) and you park it to earn revenue, it will likely bolster the complainant's charge that the domain name is being used in "bad faith" and/or attempting to profit from the use of that trademark. In this light, one could actually be assisting the complainant with their potential claim at any eventual UDRP, in my view. I believe the worst thing that could happen would be both loss of the domain name (UDRP) and possibly the loss of that past revenue, as well. If there was also ever an offer made to sell the domain name to the trademark owner, fines for "cybersquatting" are much more severe.
Of course, I ain't no lawyer.

 

[dnslife]

In cases of cyber squatting or being accused of cyber squatting it's best to offer the domain for free. The only catch is that you can charge YOUR hourly fee of $10,000 to transfer it to its true owner. Give it a whirl! There are no ceiling rates for professionals. Maybe set up a charity shelf corporation and make that domain the sole property of that corp. That might add a layer of protecton.

 

[armstrong]

Also, from what little I understand of trademark law, a company has a claim to its mark within the same product class. So if you own Dell.biz, you can claim a right to the name as long as you don't use the domain for PC sales, which is where Dell Corp. has a valid TM claim.

 

[aww]

Actually all the trademark owner has to argue is that you are diluting their mark. You could sell computer books on dell.biz and lose, especially if it goes to WIPO.

Another misconception is that if you own the domain before it's trademarked you are safe. This is not the case at all, at least based on WIPO decisions.

(If you can't guess, WIPO tends to be very pro-corporate minded in their bias.)

 

[Anthony]

Ask that Mike Rowe kid what to do

 

[Bill1]

theres no use getting in to legal stuff