Am I safe?

[Haykay2005]

i own a 6L brandable domain.now i realized the plural version with additional letter 'S' is trademark. am i safe?
for instance if i own subuga.com and subugas.com is trademark. will i be safe with the singular version i own?
lastly, my name was registered 11 years ago while the other name was registered and trademark filed 4 years ago .

contributions please

 

[bmugford]

It depends.

It is an impossible question to answer with the information you have provided.

Brad

 

[DNWon]

Typically not, but without knowing the domain name it's impossible to be sure, but your admission here on this public forum that you know the trademark exists will not look good to a UDRP panel or panelist if in fact the trademark holder decides to file a UDRP against you for this name. It depends on how famous and widely used this brandable trademark is, is it world-wide, country specific or local? If you used it, could it cause confusion amongst the general public and customers? Does the addition of the "s" change the name or meaning of the word enough to separate it from the trademarked name. You should consult with an intellectual property attorney if you think you would want to develop the domain before spending any more money on it. Good Luck to you!

 

[Haykay2005]

Typically not, but without knowing the domain name it's impossible to be sure, but your admission here on this public forum that you know the trademark exists will not look good to a UDRP panel or panelist if in fact the trademark holder decides to file a UDRP against you for this name. It depends on how famous and widely used this brandable trademark is, is it world-wide, country specific or local? If you used it, could it cause confusion amongst the general public and customers? Does the addition of the "s" change the name or meaning of the word enough to separate it from the trademarked name. You should consult with an intellectual property attorney if you think you would want to develop the domain before spending any more money on it. Good Luck to you!

there is no way i could know my position if i did not present it here. from what have read so far,i think having the name before the trademark was filed gives me an edge. my name is far older than the trademarked name here( 7 years older)

 

[Plato]

What thedotshop said plus:

If the tm is in the same country or even continent, would YOU buy this name and brand it if another company/brand just with another "s" has already a brand? (not unique anymore)

All your potential buyers with customer overlap in the same class as the mark holder will most likely not buy this name.

 

[DNWon]

there is no way i could know my position if i did not present it here. from what have read so far,i think having the name before the trademark was filed gives me an edge. my name is far older than the trademarked name here( 7 years older)

I didn't see in your original post that you registered the name prior to their acquiring a trademark, so although I wouldn't quite call it an edge, it's better than if you had registered it after their trademark was issued. If you are so inclined to develop the name, stay away from anything having to do with their trademark class and make sure if it's parked, no ads in their business class or classes are shown. Also don't contact them to inquire if they would like to purchase the name. Again, there is so much more that could possibly come into play here, so it's impossible to say you would or wouldn't be safe!

 

[Haykay2005]

I didn't see in your original post that you registered the name prior to their acquiring a trademark, so although I wouldn't quite call it an edge, it's better than if you had registered it after their trademark was issued. If you are so inclined to develop the name, stay away from anything having to do with their trademark class and make sure if it's parked, no ads in their business class or classes are shown. Also don't contact them to inquire if they would like to purchase the name. Again, there is so much more that could possibly come into play here, so it's impossible to say you would or wouldn't be safe!

I don't intend to develop. I only want sell for profit. My singular name is also a "first name" in some part of the world. not very popular though

 

[JoeE]

The simple answer is NO. You have nothing to fear, but you also need to not display on it anything related to the current TM.

but your admission here on this public forum that you know the trademark exists will not look good to a UDRP panel or panelist if in fact the trademark holder decides to file a UDRP against you for this name.

That's just nonsense. one of the three requirements in a UDRP case is for the complainant to prove a bad faith registration, meaning that the domain was registered to take advantage of the trademark in question. Show me anyone on earth who can prove that requirement here.

 

[LucidDomains]

i own a 6L brandable domain.now i realized the plural version with additional letter 'S' is trademark. am i safe?
for instance if i own subuga.com and subugas.com is trademark. will i be safe with the singular version i own?
lastly, my name was registered 11 years ago while the other name was registered and trademark filed 4 years ago .

contributions please

Without knowing the name and based on the information you have provided, it's highly likely you are fine.

 

[JoeE]

@Haykay2005 Also, since the singular form is preferred most of the time (but not always). You may be in for a nice payday (depending on the size of the company and how much money is being invested in it). Hold on to it.

 

[Haykay2005]

@Haykay2005 Also, since the singular form is preferred most of the time (but not always). You may be in for a nice payday (depending on the size of the company and how much money is being invested in it). Hold on to it.

Thank you. I appreciate

 

[Haykay2005]

Without knowing the name and based on the information you have provided, it's highly likely you are fine.

I thought as much. Just asking for further clearification. Thank you

 

[Kuffy]

It depends on your use of the name. If you owned it first, then you can't have made a bad faith registration.
If you try to "pass off" as their site or business, then you might have a problem.

You could always write to them, and ask them to stop using your name.

 

[DNWon]

That's just nonsense.

It's not nonsense at all. The OP claims "they know" they have an identical plural domain name of a trademark and wants to know if they are safe! No one that owns a trademarked name and is not the trademark holder, is 100% safe, even if they registered the name prior to the trademark. There are plenty of cases that the trademark holder won a UDRP for a name registered prior to the issuance of that trademark. Trust me when I tell you, if a complainant filed a UDRP and wanted to prove "bad faith" on the part of the respondent, the fact they admitted in a public forum that they know the trademark exists but wanted to sell the name for profit, would most definitely be a part of the UDRP complaint. I'm not saying OP has done anything wrong or would even lose a UDRP, just saying they gave more ammunition to the complainant by posting here, if in fact a UDRP were to be filed.

 

[JoeE]

Trust me when I tell you, if a complainant filed a UDRP and wanted to prove "bad faith" on the part of the respondent, the fact they admitted in a public forum that they know the trademark exists but wanted to sell the name for profit, would most definitely be a part of the UDRP complaint. I'm not saying OP has done anything wrong or would even lose a UDRP, just saying they gave more ammunition to the complainant by posting here, if in fact a UDRP were to be filed.

You don't seem to get it. The complainant NEEDS to and MUST prove that at the time of registration (which is YEARS before the Trademark came into existence) that the respondent acted in bad faith. Admitting that he now knows of a NEW trademark Asking a question on a forum because one is not too familiar with UDRP cases will not in anyway help prove bad faith retroactively to the time before the claimant came into existence unless the respondent is also proven to be a genuine fortune teller.

Also you're saying that:

the fact they admitted in a public forum that they know the trademark exists but wanted to sell the name for profit,

Admitted? You're saying it as if he's confessing to a non-existing crime.
Also "wanted to sell the name for profit"? What else would he sell it for? It's his property and as such he can sell it to anyone including the TM owners and demand premium price for it if he wished.

Unless he starts infringing on their content or business offering now, he has nothing to fear.