Can I?

[lastandleast]

I recently contracted someone to do some work for me on my farm and they stole alot of stuff from me. I prosecuted them in court and won, my question is. The company is very small and has no trademark for their name or website. Can I purchase the domain name that is the same as their company name and simply state the facts to warn other consumers? I do not intend to profit from it in any way.

 

[pdcom]

Yeah, I suppose you could do this, but you would likely be hearing from the contractor's attorney with a new lawsuit, especially if you take a domain with the contractor's name for the purpose. If you want to warn others about the contractor, I'd suggest you start by filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. You could also use word-of-mouth in your community. No matter what you end up doing, be very careful that you state only the facts. Dealing with a slander or libel lawsuit being filed against you is probably not the outcome you want.

(I'm not an attorney.)

 

[Ronald Regging]

I agree, going the route of the BBB and word-of-mouth will probably effect them far more than a website, because if it's a small local company who doesn't even have a website, whats the point of taking it to the Net? Legally speaking though, if they don't have a TM and haven't established a common law TM, you'd probably be within your legal rights to register the domain. Also, if you only state the facts, it cant be libel. This doesn't mean they won't sue you though, just that they wont win. But are you prepared to pay lawyer fees and go through even more hassle with them? Like Judge Judy says, "Get over it!" Warn family, friends and associates about them, file a BBB, and just move on. Thats just my opinion