Big Company harrassing me for domain name

[deelip]

Last year I started a software company in India and was busy minding my own business when I got a letter from the lawyers of one of India's top IT companies stating that my company name was violating their client's trademark. So I changed my company name and thought that the problem was sorted out. That was 4 months ago. This week I received another letter form the same lawyers saying that I should transfer the domain name to their clients, free of cost.

My lawyer says that legally they cannot ask me to transfer the domain name since they cannot prove that I registered the domain name in bad faith or to squat on it. I actually had a valid company under that name and did business. However they can make my life miserable by dragging me to court. I dont have the time nor the patience to take this matter further. Neither do I want to let them bully me into handing over the domain name to them. I have had enough trouble and lost enough money changing my company name.

I want to get rid of the domain name. If anybody is interested in buying the name, please contact me at [email protected]. I will send you information on the domain name and the IT company.

 

[Dave_Z]

The domain name is inactive, which means that I am not using the domain name in bad faith.

In the US, the ACPA law can consider the domain being inactive as bad faith,
although several other factors are needed as well. Better check with your
attorney to be sure how it works under Indian laws (if any), deelip.

Let me wish you good luck and Godspeed, deelip. Let us know how it goes.

 

[deelip]

The domain is inactive because I am waiting for it to expire. I didnt know what else to do with it.

I know that this can be interpreted differently by different people but I think that taking down a perfectly legal revenue generating web site and making it inactive to respect the trademark of another party is anything but bad faith. It describes good faith and a respect for the trademark.

Thanks for the comment. Thats the reason I came with this to NamePros. To get different perspectives.

 

[RJ]

Hi Deelip,

Sorry to say that IMHO you don't have much of a case to fight with. You were using the same company name as the trademark holder, in the same industry, within the same country. The fact that you are no longer using the trademark as your business name is unimportant, as long as you still hold the domain name.

I'm really not sure why they are even bothering with having their lawyers harrass you. Since it is a .COM name, it was regsistered under the UDRP agreement. All they really have to do is file a UDRP dispute with a dispute provider, pay the $1300 or so in fees and they will easily be able to have the domain transferred to them upon a panelist's ruling.

The best you could hope for is that they are willing to pay a nominal fee to you for the domain instead.

Again this is my (somewhat educated) opinion. I wish you the best with your case.

RJ

 

[deelip]

Hmm... interesting. Maybe they are real scroungers and want to save the $1300 fee.

Does it help me that they have not yet registered the trademark, but have simply applied for registration?

 

[.X.]

It matters from civil stand point i think,I had a somewhat simular situation as you a couple of years ago.The company wanted me to hand over my domain name,They finally offered me $200 for the name.I sold it to em.But had they filed a civil lawsuit on me,They would have lost.They had no TM or SM.And no affiliation with the net.Best of luck to ya.

 

[jberryhill]

If it goes to court, this case will be handled in India. Are you sure that "settlement negotiations are generally inadmissible in court proceedings" is true in their legal system?

I would be shocked if it wasn't true, since the rule is one of English law, and is true in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and every other commonwealth country. India's legal system is entirely based on the English system.