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  • 15-11-2004 11:08am
    #1
    napalm@night
    Closed Accounts Posts: 175 ✭✭


    just wondering if anyone could help me...didn't really know where else to post this... a while a ago i registered a few domain names they were .info ones and i did it for free. One to the names i registered was of a particualr company that hadn't registered their .info name so i registered it.

    Now they have sent me quite an imtimdating letter outlining their copyrights to the name etc about 50 pages long as well actually. They have given me 14 days to hand it over or else....

    Can anyione give me some advise please?


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    #2
    Sposs
    Registered Users Posts: 2,472 ✭✭✭Sposs


    What have you got on the domain name? did you only register it because it was the name of a well known company?


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    #3
    napalm@night
    Closed Accounts Posts: 175 ✭✭napalm@night


    no i have nothing on it at all...just coz it was free was the only reason i did it...


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    #4
    dahamsta
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 16,659 ✭✭✭✭dahamsta


    What he means is: is it a recognisable mark or a generic term? If it looks like you registered it in order to profit from the name, even if the only profit is traffic, that'll work against you.

    It's really very hard to tell without knowing the domain name and the name of the company, is there some particular reason you don't want to reveal these details?

    Also, what does "for else" mean? What have they threatened you with? Are they an Irish or foreign company?

    adam


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    #5
    napalm@night
    Closed Accounts Posts: 175 ✭✭napalm@night


    yeah its a pretty recognisable mark its not a and i believe they are at least in part registered in Ireland they say unless i give transfer control of it to them within 1 days they will take furter action or legal action along with charging me costs...


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    #6
    MrNuked
    Closed Accounts Posts: 989 ✭✭✭MrNuked


    You're entitled to the name if it is appropriate for the website you wantto set up.
    You are not entitled to the name if it is not appropriate or misleading.
    Spike Lee sued the webmasters of the porn site spikelee.com for using his name to grab traffic. But in that case it was obvious the only reason they wanted the name was to nab traffic.
    I assume it's bull****, but there is also the story that 20th Century Fox changed its name to Fox because someone had bought all the domains for 21st Century Fox.


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    #7
    dahamsta
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 16,659 ✭✭✭✭dahamsta


    napalm@night wrote:
    yeah its a pretty recognisable mark
    In which case the question will be whether or not you registered it because it's a recognisable mark (in which case you'd be trading or intending to trade off their mark). If you did, or you're at least perceived to do so, you're probably screwed no matter what route they take (see below).
    i believe they are at least in part registered in Ireland
    In which case they have two options open to them, the Irish legal system or the UDRP. If you're trading off their reputation, if I was them I'd take the latter route simply because it'll be cheaper...
    they say unless i give transfer control of it to them within 1 days they will take furter action or legal action along with charging me costs...
    ...although the mention of costs might negate that. Their first step will probably be to send you a solicitor's letter anyway. Usually I'd tell people to just ignore this, but since I have no context I can't do that here.

    With respect, no-one here can advise you with any confidence whatsoever without knowing the details, you're pretty much wasting your time. You'd be better off consulting a solicitor for advice.

    adam


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