debate Binance.ca

[lambo.com]

This is a twitter thread on what appears to be Binance.ca

The domain owner is being pursued by Binance. What do you think on this case?

It might be an easy victory for Binance to claim yet does the registrant have grounds for a successful defense in Canada ?

https://twitter.com/x/status/1548049090490953728

https://twitter.com/x/status/1548049095993921542

https://twitter.com/x/status/1548049101282955266

https://twitter.com/x/status/1548049107733737472

https://twitter.com/x/status/1548049113547096067

https://twitter.com/x/status/1548049113547096067

https://twitter.com/x/status/1548049120685764620

https://twitter.com/cryptofelon/status/1548049186582474754?t=1rsjYTeMibig3DPPD7MuFA&s=19

 

[lambo.com]

This is a twitter thread on what appears to be Binance.ca

The domain owner is being pursued by Binance. What do you think on this case?

It might be an easy victory for Binance to claim yet does the registrant have grounds for a successful defense in Canada ?

https://twitter.com/x/status/1548049090490953728

https://twitter.com/x/status/1548049095993921542

https://twitter.com/x/status/1548049101282955266

https://twitter.com/x/status/1548049107733737472

https://twitter.com/x/status/1548049113547096067

https://twitter.com/x/status/1548049113547096067

https://twitter.com/x/status/1548049120685764620

https://twitter.com/cryptofelon/status/1548049186582474754?t=1rsjYTeMibig3DPPD7MuFA&s=19

Sentiment check

 

[capybara]

This is so lame, registering a non-dictionary word after a startup with the same name appears and then pretending its just a coincidence and really there was a [different] idea behind the registration. The landing page literally screams "I am dumb cybersquatter".

 

[Gabriel360]

The guy is obviously cybersquatting. He wants a million dollar and he's still trying to claim he isn't specifically targeting the company.

Plus, the landing page is fifty shades of dumb.

Hope he gets whooped in court.

A lot of people think billionaires (people and companies) should throw money around just because they're billionaires.

 

[The Durfer]

well he did create the domain binance.ca on - Created on 2017-10-27

while binance (inc?) filed for their trademark on January 22, 2019 and was not published til June 9, 2020

https://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4808:hptlw1.2.4

i think with this information he could easily get what he is asking for the domain. ty.

the other live tm was filed on March 16, 2018

 

[NYJimbo]

"I responded back that I’d take 420 ETH."

Stupid and greedy. If they offer 6500, counter with 20k. He would probably end up with $13k. Nice money. He is an idiot. Hope he loses and has to pay Binances legal fees.

 

[jhm]

30 BTC (big lol)...cybersquatting at its finest

 

[The Durfer]

true he shouldve taken the offer, but he still has a semivaluable domain anyway. Let their be fair negotiations for it and continue. Quit trying to steal domains or bully. ty.

 

[topdom]

Hope he will win or sell. Winning is difficult, but winning udrp would not be a victory for Binance either.
Binance should offer 10K or sue otherwise. So simple.

 

[FolioTeam]

This is a twitter thread on what appears to be Binance.ca

The domain owner is being pursued by Binance. What do you think on this case?

It might be an easy victory for Binance to claim yet does the registrant have grounds for a successful defense in Canada ?

https://twitter.com/x/status/1548049090490953728

https://twitter.com/x/status/1548049095993921542

https://twitter.com/x/status/1548049101282955266

https://twitter.com/x/status/1548049107733737472

https://twitter.com/x/status/1548049113547096067

https://twitter.com/x/status/1548049113547096067

https://twitter.com/x/status/1548049120685764620

https://twitter.com/cryptofelon/status/1548049186582474754?t=1rsjYTeMibig3DPPD7MuFA&s=19

I can say this: Binance.com was in operation as at June/July 2017. On the other hand, Binance.ca was registered months after in October of the same year.

Additionally, Binance is what I would call a brandable name and not generic at all.

Most of us here know that the word realtor is trademarked and that they defend their mark aggressively. Yet, some sold names in this niche have also been reported. Personally, I think it's risky behavior registering them. I usually steer clear of such names even when I see some sales data on them.

Registering such names when there's an obvious trademark, in my opinion, is just inviting trouble. Now, if he had registered Binance.ca in 2015/2016, we would be discussing a different case today.

I think Binance might have a case if they pursue it.

PS: Note that I am not a lawyer of any kind. So, my personal opinion on this should not be construed as legal advice.

 

[The Durfer]

I can say this: Binance.com was in operation as at June/July 2017. On the other hand, Binance.ca was registered months after in October of the same year.

Additionally, Binance is what I would call a brandable name and not generic at all.

Most of us here know that the word realtor is trademarked and that they defend their mark aggressively. Yet, some sold names in this niche have also been reported. Personally, I think it's risky behavior registering them. I usually steer clear of such names even when I see some sales data on them.

Registering such names when there's an obvious trademark, in my opinion, is just inviting trouble. Now, if he had registered Binance.ca in 2015/2016, we would be discussing a different case today.

I think Binance might have a case if they pursue it.

PS: Note that I am not a lawyer of any kind. So, my personal opinion on this should not be construed as legal advice.

yes but their published tm didnt come thru til 2018 and 2020.

 

[FolioTeam]

yes but their published tm didnt come thru til 2018 and 2020.

There's what is called common law trademark which has been mentioned on this forum severally by @jberryhill and others

Definition:

A common law trademark is a trademark established solely through use in commerce in a specific geographical area. Business names, logos, and phrases that are regularly used–even though they have never been federally registered–can all be considered common law trademarks.

The Binance trademark application process might have been completed in 2018 like you said but they were already using it in commerce as far back as 2017 before the Binance.ca registration.

 

[The Durfer]

There's what is called common law trademark which has been mentioned on this forum severally by @jberryhill and others

Definition:

A common law trademark is a trademark established solely through use in commerce in a specific geographical area. Business names, logos, and phrases that are regularly used–even though they have never been federally registered–can all be considered common law trademarks.

The Binance trademark application process might have been completed in 2018 like you said but they were already using it in commerce as far back as 2017 before the Binance.ca registration.

Awesome. Ty.

 

[cooljub]

Is this the chap who held out for $450k in negotiations on a .us crypto name not so long ago?

 

[FolioTeam]

Is this the chap who held out for $450k in negotiations on a .us crypto name not so long ago?

Yes

 

[enterscope]

I mean, Binance.ca is no where near worth 1 million USD. And we all know he has no intentions of developing this name. Let's be real. Either way, unless he was actually infringing on the mark then it's fair game.

It's not trademark infringement to sell a domain.

Also, $6500 was a fair offer, IMO.

 

[Andr3w]

It's worth mentioning that this isn't the first rodeo for this guy, having sold a .us crypto domain name (most likely another crypto company name) for $435k just a few months ago.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1519785491062833153

 

[HotKey]

30 BTC (big lol)...cybersquatting at its finest

Exactly. There's only one Binance, what does this chap hope to do with the dot-ca of it? As NYJimbo said.. greed. This is a one-of-a-kind brandable term, with no generic meaning. This kind of case, I cannot support the registrant on any sort of genuine grounds they had on registering the domain.

Dot-ca's aren't exactly exciting extensions anyways (and I'm from Canada) and isn't this the optimal scenario we look to as investors to have someone reach out to us with a solid offer?

Registrant is dreaming.

 

[jhm]

Exactly. There's only one Binance, what does this chap hope to do with the dot-ca of it? As NYJimbo said.. greed. This is a one-of-a-kind brandable term, with no generic meaning. This kind of case, I cannot support the registrant on any sort of genuine grounds they had on registering the domain.

Dot-ca's aren't exactly exciting extensions anyways (and I'm from Canada) and isn't this the optimal scenario we look to as investors to have someone reach out to us with a solid offer?

Registrant is dreaming.

Yep. As @NYJimbo pointed out, if he said you what I'd do the deal at $20k right now, and found compromise in-between or at figure...they'd probably pay. Since he's high balling, they'll wait for him to reflect on his silly asking price

 

[Bob Hawkes]

I don't know more of the history, but interesting that according to Google ngram viewer (measures popularity of words from scanned Google Books) the term binance, while far from common anytime, was more popular in 1830 than it was in 2019 (and also marginally more popular from 1920-1930).

https://books.google.com/ngrams/gra...=3&direct_url=t1;,binance;,c0#t1;,binance;,c0

 

[pinkdragon]

I might me wrong, but I think he is a US citizen, the domain is .ca

But of course, he was not targeting Binance when he registered the domain It was just a domain registered for a "personal" project.

 

[asxforum]

He registered the domain before there was a TM , So he was in the right all along .

 

[Peak.Domains]

"B In An CE ca.,​

be in an, or around (circa) an, common era"​

HAHAHAHA Yeah... " be in an or around an common era", yeah man, totally, that's DEFINITELY why he registered the name "binance" ...

To create a website about the topic of "be in an, or around (circa) an, common era" (a made up, awkward phase that has NEVER appeared on the internet before.)

We can defend ridiculous examples of bully car companies trying to steal domains like Lambo.com without having to defend obvious and blatant examples of squatting like Binance.ca, guys, come on, it doesn't have to be all or nothing.

Binance.ca registered at the end of October, 2017.

And here's Binance.com in August, 2017: http://web.archive.org/web/20170820131804/https://www.binance.com/

So the .ca gets snagged months after the .com had been developed, and people here really believe the .ca was registered with the meaning "be in an, or around (circa) an, common era". If you believe that, I got some 2 word .xyz's to sell ya.

And remember, this .ca domain that totally has nothing at all to do with the crypto company of the same name, is OWNED BY A CRYPTO DOMAINER. Whose name is FELON. The world is a parody of itself sometimes, hahahahahah.

There is some serious motivated reasoning going on here. Truly delusional.

 

[topdom]

Binance could mean short for Binary Finance. Binary: something like digital. More than one people can come up with the same term. Or someone may have trouble spelling F and use B instead.

 

[Bob Hawkes]

It is hard to sort out how many are related, but OpenCorporates indicate 63 active companies operating under the name, or also known as, binance. More than I would have suspected, and while a few are related to Binance Holdings it appears the majority are unrelated businesses. It includes 2 recently registered Canadian (province of BC) companies.

I might me wrong, but I think he is a US citizen, the domain is .ca

If this is right, and his social media seems to suggest it is, I don't understand how he is allowed to keep the .ca without a Canadian presence. The process seems pretty efficient in sniffing out those without Canadian presence, as a number of people have discovered. Or perhaps one of the 3 Canadian businesses are related to him, which would give him rights to keep the .ca registration.

Binance Holdings are seeking several Canadian TM according to the Canadian TM database, but those filings were made starting in 2020 (as far as I can determine) and a pre-assessment query was submitted a couple of months ago, and they have still not been decided as I read it.