Celebrity domain names

[stuart_domains]

i have owned a celebrity domain name for some time now, and have used it to promote there products.

the celebrity now wants this dot com name.

what do i do?
just give it to them?
can i negotiate a price?
wait for Icann to just take it?
sell the domain name on?

I await your advice.

 

[Sparhawke]

Generally speaking celebrities sometimes allow people to make fansites on their name but if they start making money off their fame and "brand" they can and do revoke this allowance, I know David Boreanaz allows a fan to maintain a site dedicated to him on his own name on davidboreanaz.com:

This site is a not for profit fan-site and is not officially supported by David or anyone connected with him.

While it says it is not supported by him notice that it is still up and running after all these years and that it is also clear to mention it is not-for-profit. (Even though not-for-profit is a fairly loose term, wouldn't it be better to call it "not for any monetary gain whatsoever"?)

Thats the crux right there, if you are making money off their name you are likely to lose it.

And really, once they start any kind of challenge to it you are very much likely to lose it, it might be in your best interests to simply hand it over and wish him well in the future because I don't see this going in your favour from what little you told us

If you do sell it on then I can almost guarantee the celebrity will have a hissy fit, and that is not something you can afford; if nothing else it will get you a reputation.

 

[lothos]

i have owned a celebrity domain name for some time now, and have used it to promote there products.

You are infringing on their trademark.

Give them the domain name for free, and consider yourself lucky that they're not suing you in court.

 

[nielsencl]

just give it to them?

Yes, that is what I would do. And take this as a lesson as to what the risks of buying domains that are someone's name who is famous. Don't do it again or buy any domains with trademarks unless you are sure about the risks.

can i negotiate a price?

You could try, but that will only confirm your "Bad faith" use of the domain. If you name a "small" amount and are very polite they might pay you something to get the domain. It will cost them about $500 at least to take it from you, I think. But they may not care and be willing to pay many hundreds more just to take it from you. The lawyers that they hire will be pushing for that so they get paid...

wait for Icann to just take it?

You could do that, but if the famous person's lawyers think you have money or have been profiting from their name, they could come after you with a lawsuit. Just give it to them and consider it a cheap lesson in what NOT to be doing.

sell the domain name on?

Oh, this is a GREAT idea. Not only do you risk the lawyer coming after you for avoiding what they requested, you will also piss off the new owner when the lawyers contact THEN and demand the domain they just paid you for...! I would make sure the buyer doesn't live in the same city as you do, or even the same country.

 

[Yeodo]

If the celebrity domain name is JoeBloggs.com etc and is generic and there are other people with the same name, you may be on safe ground. Especially if the name is not trademarked which i doubt it would be..

I myself recently purchased a domain for a dollar, and it turns out its the name of a very famous singer, and her record company let it "drop" by the looks of it.

It doesnt sound like youve acted in bad faith, hey you even "promoted" them.

If they want the domain, like you say, negotiate a price. Start at $5000 or whatever level you feel appropriate. Without knowing more its hard to say what price to ask.

Good luck.

 

[stuart_domains]

If the celebrity domain name is JoeBloggs.com etc and is generic and there are other people with the same name, you may be on safe ground. Especially if the name is not trademarked which i doubt it would be..

I myself recently purchased a domain for a dollar, and it turns out its the name of a very famour singer, and her record company let it "drop" by the looks of it.

It doesnt sound like youve acted in bad faith, hey you even "promoted" them.

If they want the domain, like you say, negotiate a price. Start at $5000 or whatever level you feel appropriate. Without knowing more its hard to say what price to ask.

Good luck.

Thanks for your advice and your much more friendly tone than the other comments

 

[Sparhawke]

Hows this for a friendly tone?

You have been here for five years and you still have not figured out that there ...actually I can't be bothered.

Some things are just not worth it.

Go ahead, sell the damn domain, dump it on some other sucker and pay the consequences, try explaining to Icann that you really have a legitimate reason for demanding that someone pay $5000 for their own brandname...

A friendly tone in some circumstances is useless, so is telling someone what they want to hear.

I may be harsh and blunt at times but I am not afraid to slap anyone across the face with reality and make sure they grasp the situation that has just hit the spinning discs and is hurtling towards them.

 

[Bannen]

used it to promote there products.

You're using tricky phrasing; by this, do you mean that you are selflessly promoting items they have for sale, but are NOT BEING PAID ANY MONEY FOR IT YOURSELF? Or by 'promoting their products', do you mean you have affiliate ads and you get a cut of each sale? It doesn't sound like you're a fan, it sounds like you're a domainer who owns this celebrity's nameDotCom and want to profit by it, and have been profiting by it.

the celebrity now wants this dot com name.

It's not a crime for a celebrity to want their domain name. They're not doing anything wrong by asking for it; they are totally in the right, as it's their name, and you are cybersquatting on it.

what do i do?
just give it to them?
can i negotiate a price?
wait for Icann to just take it?
sell the domain name on?

I await your advice.

From the above comments, it looks like you feel good about taking the advice of someone who feels the way you do - that you should profit by this celebrity's domain name - and you feel bad about taking the advice of anyone who disagrees and thinks you should give them the domain.

To clear it up: switch positions. Pretend you are the celebrity, that some domainer is squatting on your name and trying to profit by all you've accomplished, and is now even trying to keep you from owning your own name in the dot.com. You'd be pretty peeved, and rightfully so.

You can rationalize and rationalize all you want until the cows come home. Many domainers do, and give the rest of us a bad name. Other domainers stop rationalizing and do something kind, decent, and right.
It's this celebrity's name. That's the only reason you got it in the first place, and you're trying to profit from it.

Be kind. Do it for your own karma, with best wishes.
That's my advice

 

[johname]

"promote there products" need to be more specific what that means. Also how they approached you. Was it an attorney that wrote you? Did they use harsh words? You already associated the domain name with this specific individual(bad move). Best hope is that they play nice ball with you and give you a token amount for playing nice ball in return (not spend days mulling it over)

"Ask $5000" lol thats the quickest way to start a Domain Name Dispute.

Goodluck

 

[stuart_domains]

all your advice and comments have been much appreciated, i have transferred the domain name for free on to the celebrity.

 

[Sparhawke]

Good job, if you are a real fan it could always be an option once you have transferred all rights to the domain to him or her to ask for a listing on their site to a fansite listing?

I know for a fact Eddie Izzard did this back in the day, he has/had links from his official site to fansites...(Jagex does the same, most official sites do, they allow people to use promote them while allowing them a licence to use affiliate links)

And yes, you would be allowed affiliate links on those fansites.

You are just not allowed to take a celebrities name and make money from them directly on a site bearing his name

The simple fact is that you have lost the main domain, it was never really legally yours in the first place but if you are a true fan most celebrities have no problem with you promoting them..fact of life. Often they will list officially recognised fansites and a personal recommendation can go a hell of a long way

 

[exsedo]

Many people walk on the fence dividing good from bad. It takes a good deal of effort to stay on the fence, but very little to join either side. IMO you have chosen the right side.