Company wants to buy my domain name and I don't know what to do

fauve · Jul 6, 2012

I don't know anything about domaining, and a friend's advice sent me here to ask some questions that I hope wiser heads can help with. I have recently been contacted by a representative of a UK corporation about buying my domain name. It's a five-letter.com, a fairly uncommon art term; the company already owns the .co.uk version of the name and they use it for one of their product lines. I have owned this domain for fifteen years and at one time I used it for my consulting business, then later on for my personal artwork. I have used the name in one form or another continuously online since I registered it, but I use the domain just to receive email for the last eight or nine years and have had a parked Network Solutions default website for it.

The person who contacted me was immediately a bit aggressive in the initial email ("we are the rightful owner of this trademark" etc), then he offered me a couple of hundred dollars US for the name, which I felt was insultingly low. I replied that I have owned the domain for a long time, that the name is one I use for my artwork, and I'm not interested in selling, especially for that little money. I haven't heard back from them since.

Now that I've had time to think it over, I'm worried.

Can this company actually take the domain name away from me by force, the way that first email made it sound?

HappyDay · Jul 6, 2012

I believe your first reaction and answer was very good.
Sometimes these things are very complex.

There is an extra section for such problems just to let you know:
http://www.namepros.com/legal-issues-and-disputes/

twomoon · Jul 6, 2012

If the domain is your nickname here, I would say this:

I'm not a real expert but according to common sense I think if you don't and didn't sell lingerie on your site - it would be ok. You don't have any ads on your domain - it's good. I don't see any bad faith.
But as I understood they have a TM for this keyword in US (since 2006) and you have the domain since 1997

fauve · Jul 6, 2012

Yes, that's right TwoMoon, I have owned the domain continuously since 1997. I don't see h ow they can accuse me of bad faith when I bought the domain long before that product line of theirs even existed.

I'm not completely averse to selling them the domain, but not for a couple of hundred dollars. I've used the name in the art field that is my hobby for more than a decade now and it would be kind of a pain to change everything over, plus I have a sentimental attachment to the domain. I don't see how they could spin those objections into an assertion of bad faith and take the domain away from me, so I guess I'm okay?

JB Lions · Jul 6, 2012

Time will tell, they might try something, forget about it all together or are working on a proper offer. I think you have a great case since you had it many years before they got a TM for it and you can actually show you've used it/using it all these years before them. You've used it for your own business and personally. If they want it, they should pay like they do.

twomoon · Jul 6, 2012

Yes you're in a good position, plus as I understood it's not your goal to sell the domain. In this case you just need to wait for their next step (if there would be any movement from their side). Just don't put any ads on your domain and don't email them first now - asking if it was their final offer

In that case I guess they would be able to use your email as a bad faith. So if I would you I would just wait.

mitok · Jul 6, 2012

JB Lions said:
Time will tell, they might try something, forget about it all together or are working on a proper offer. I think you have a great case since you had it many years before they got a TM for it and you can actually show you've used it/using it all these years before them. You've used it for your own business and personally. If they want it, they should pay like they do.

Exactly, tell them your price (even if you would sell for $10k+ only) and stop responding to them. But highlight that you are familiar with similar cases and that in your case they cant find bad faith and that you cant loose.

DU · Jul 6, 2012

mitok said:
Exactly, tell them your price (even if you would sell for $10k+ only) and stop responding to them. But highlight that you are familiar with similar cases and that in your case they cant find bad faith and that you cant loose.

I wouldn't tell them a price.

I certainly wouldn't bring up the fact that there is bad faith etc.

Though it is tempting to think you know what being a lawyer is... usually these companies actually employ lawyers who generally know more than that. The company has to prove bad faith.. those two suggestions, if followed, contribute to that bad faith even if everything else doesn't.

I think the answer was fine. It leaves the ball firmly in the other court and OP seems more concerned with not losing domain (getting fair value) than making a quick buck. To be fair, the company ought to pay fair market value to offset the pain in the ass that is changing your email.. etc. etc. If pushed I'd suggest they have to pay for me to go through that hassle - as well as finding a substitute domain (which isn't cheap).

fauve · Jul 6, 2012

Defaultuser, how do I find out what is fair market value for the domain?

Ms Domainer · Jul 6, 2012

*

If they threatened you, I'd stop responding to them directly. I would not deal with someone like that, and your response may actually hurt your case.

However, if they file a UDRP, you should respond to it--via a lawyer if it's a valuable one.

*

mitok · Jul 7, 2012

The most important things are: that you own that domain since 1997 (before they registered TM), that you dont sell the same thing as they, that you run your own project under that domain, that you dont have adds similar to their product, that you havent offered it for sale and especially that you havent contacted them first.

Now, almost everything has a price, and I dont see anything wrong in telling them your price for domain once they have asked.

That is my opinion and I am pretty sure that you cant loose the case if it goes to court.

RaiderGirl · Jul 7, 2012

Learning comes from experience and you don't have that time. My suggestion is to have someone broker it for you, OR put the domain on Sedo or Afternic, making the negotiation process a heck of a lot easier for you.

Any emails he sends you, refer him to Sedo, Afternic or whoever is acting as your broker.

---------- Post added at 07:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:57 PM ----------

Ms Domainer said:
*

If they threatened you, I'd stop responding to them directly. I would not deal with someone like that, and your response may actually hurt your case.

Good advice! I recommend strongly the OP follow it.

Turrican · Jul 7, 2012

Sorry but you are professional and you are playing..

fauve · Jul 7, 2012

Thank you for the good advice, everyone.

Ms Domainer, they didn't threaten me, the initial email was just very assertive in tone about "we own the trademark." Once we started a dialogue it was more relaxed, I guess maybe they saw the domain parked and thought there might be something going on. I sent them a link to an art website I've been posting work on since 1999 with the name; I think if they were worried that I was going to try to put up ads or mislead people they know now that I'm not.

RaiderGirl, if I don't want to sell the domain but just want to keep it, do you still think I need to use Sedo or Afternic? Or is it enough to just keep saying politely that no, I would prefer not to sell?

And Turrican, I'm not sure what you mean by your post.

dnp1234 · Jul 7, 2012

fauve said:
Thank you for the good advice, everyone.

Ms Domainer, they didn't threaten me, the initial email was just very assertive in tone about "we own the trademark." Once we started a dialogue it was more relaxed, I guess maybe they saw the domain parked and thought there might be something going on. I sent them a link to an art website I've been posting work on since 1999 with the name; I think if they were worried that I was going to try to put up ads or mislead people they know now that I'm not.

RaiderGirl, if I don't want to sell the domain but just want to keep it, do you still think I need to use Sedo or Afternic? Or is it enough to just keep saying politely that no, I would prefer not to sell?

And Turrican, I'm not sure what you mean by your post.

Don't put it on Sedo or Afternic. Don't list it for sale anywhere or on the domain itself. Keep it how it is and make sure the default page for it from your hosting provider isn't showing ads. If it is, just make a one pager and upload it. Gather your documentation and proof that you have used it in the past for a business, a personal site, and now email. Do not contact them, let them only make contact.

.NJ · Jul 7, 2012

I would just leave the situation as it stands right now. Do not email them back with questions or statements regarding the name, and certainly don't go back to them with a counter offer (at least not yet).

Did you conduct any research yet into the size or how well established the company is? This could give you the answer as to how serious they really are. I don't really see a mom and pop operation going the distance here.

Just sit and wait. My guess is you will receive a higher offer from them sometime in the near future.

I had someone play this game last year. The started off with a somewhat similar email, but ultimatley the final email ended with a sale.

Good luck, and don't lose to much sleep over it. Your in a good spot from what I see.

Ms Domainer · Jul 7, 2012

*

The comment "we own the trademark" could be an ominous sign and has an undertone of a threat; I would worry about such a statement.

My advice: if you proceed, keep things cordial, but also keep one eye open.

And, as dnp1234 says, DON'T park it on a page with ads; an attractive placeholder page seems to be your best bet. Getting any documentation together seems to be a wise move.

I hope all works out for you.

*

Name Trader · Jul 8, 2012

fauve said:
I guess maybe they saw the domain parked and thought there might be something going on.

If you have the domain parked and it's showings ads for their competitors you are in deep doo-doo. I would make the domain not resolve at all, but it might already be too late.

Fabio1 · Jul 8, 2012

......

fauve · Jul 8, 2012

There are no ads on the domain and there have never been any ads on the domain. Still, I took it off parking status and uploaded my own placeholder page (which is just one of my own digital images, nothing else, no ads, no links, etc.)

The company that contacted me is legit, they're not scammers. I looked up the company and verified that the person who contacted me does in fact work there in the position they described. This is a mid-sized UK corporation which was just bought out by a multinational, which is why I guess they suddenly became interested in the domain. I don't think I'm in any kind of doo-doo (hopefully), as I said I bought the domain fifteen years ago for my business and have used it ever since for business\artwork. Though at this point I'm kind of sorry that I ever bought the darned thing.

I never thought it could cause this kind of headache for me.

allanh · Jul 8, 2012

It's no headache for you, the worst (and very unlikely ) case is you lose the domain.
At best, you may be 5~6 figure richer soon.

Congratulations!

enterscope · Jul 8, 2012

Regardless, it's going to cost them $10,000 to file a UDRP (uniform domain-name dispute-resolution policy) case plus attorney fees and you have a really good case considering how long you've owned the name.

I would not be worried at all about losing the name. Either keep it or ask $5000+ for it.

snicksnack · Jul 8, 2012

UDRP doesn't cost $10K ! Not sure where you get your info from.

However if the domain was registered by you or bought back in 1997 before they even used the name as a product, they shouldn't be able to prove that the domain had been registered in bad faith, as you couldn't have known about their product which came out many years later.

bmugford · Jul 8, 2012

snicksnack said:
UDRP doesn't cost $10K ! Not sure where you get your info from.

The legal fees to file a case are far higher than the actual filing fee. Many times the lawyer fees can easily reach into low 5 digits.

To the OP, don't let this company intimidate you. The term has a generic use, and you have owned this domain for 15+ years. There are also others companies using the term, this company does not have exclusive rights to it.

It is just a big company trying to bully someone smaller to get their way.

Brad

Name Trader · Jul 8, 2012

I wonder what kind of parking company has no ads? But now you have put some content there you should be ok (if there were no ads before). I wish I could have the same kind of problems as you (say 10 a month)

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