.mobi Advice needed/cancelled some domains due to possible TM issues

[binaryman]

Hi
I would appreciate some advice here. In the past 4 days I regged 2 domains after checking the UPSTO, Madrid Protocol and UK trademark links. The names are BOOKaLIMO,mobi and HotelBreaks,mobi The names have no trademarks on them so I regged them. However the names do have established websites with them having the .com,.net and .info sites. In the case of the bookalimo site they have a TM but it is for 1800-book-a-limo.com
The HotelBreaks logo has a C in a circle (copyright) attached to it's logo
So to avoid problems I just cancelled these domains again. Have I done the right thing? Would I have possibly gotten TM problems with these guys?
Bookalimo operates in the USA. Would I have had problems with the .MOBI site? I always thought that names as these 2 were not distinctive enough to be protected and anyone could use them.

I know that a company does not even have to have a registered trademark on it's name because if it can prove that it has been doing business under that name for a number of years and it is a reasonably well known name it can claim protection anyway trademarked or not.
This was the case with AIRLINEWAREHOUSE.,CO,UK a while ago which has no trademark as it was ruled that it is not distinctive enough to qualify for a trademark.
Yet they were awarded the infringing domain name as the owner of the infringing name regged it in bad faith.

 

[-REECE-]

I wouldn't worry about it binaryman. In the case of hotel breaks, the TM is for the logo, not the words. As for book a limo, that's about as generic as things get and I highly doubt they would win that one.

 

[binaryman]

Hell Reece.. I am so unsure of what can and what cannot now and so should I re-register them then?

 

[-REECE-]

Yes if you want the names, re-reg them. The big problem is if the words are coined by a third party and not actual words -- as is the case with alienware, for example. As long as it's a dictionary word and somewhat generic -- as is the word limo, hotel, or breaks, it will be up to them to prove why it infringes rather than it being a no-brainer decision if you regged microsoftsoftware.mobi or something along those lines.

 

[binaryman]

Have re-regged BookaLimo