Found a really good domain in GD closeouts and due to me being a noob, I quickly bought it before checking WIPO thinking that there is a very low possibility some company would trademark this (WRONG).
The domain name consists of a keyword + co (in dot com). For example, if the keyword is XXXXXX, the domain name would be XXXXXXco.com. Their TM would be 'XXXXXX co'. So that's an exact match.
The trademark holder had it registered in Mexico and I don't think they are known globally since even their website uses the Mexican cctld. Can't be sure that they are the previous owners of the now my domain though.
Their mark was applied for before the date of the domain registration but they got their mark registered 1 year later than the domain was registered (I bought it from closeouts yesterday though).
Of course, I will not approach and try to sell the name to them, that's a no brainer. The thing is there are plenty of companies that have that keyword in their names but without the 'co' at the end, which can be short for company, communication, construction, consulting, to name a few. These companies work under a different class than the TM holder.
So now I have some questions that I need answers for:
The domain name consists of a keyword + co (in dot com). For example, if the keyword is XXXXXX, the domain name would be XXXXXXco.com. Their TM would be 'XXXXXX co'. So that's an exact match.
The trademark holder had it registered in Mexico and I don't think they are known globally since even their website uses the Mexican cctld. Can't be sure that they are the previous owners of the now my domain though.
Their mark was applied for before the date of the domain registration but they got their mark registered 1 year later than the domain was registered (I bought it from closeouts yesterday though).
Of course, I will not approach and try to sell the name to them, that's a no brainer. The thing is there are plenty of companies that have that keyword in their names but without the 'co' at the end, which can be short for company, communication, construction, consulting, to name a few. These companies work under a different class than the TM holder.
So now I have some questions that I need answers for:
- Should I drop the name?
- If not, can I list it at domain marketplaces without any issues?
- If they approach me and threaten to sue me, can I just tell them that I'm not planning to use it in 'bad faith' and they can f* off?
- Can I try to sell it (outbound) to other companies that use the 'XXXXXX' name but operate in a class that is different to the holder's?
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