[Company]sucks.com or [company]reviews.com - Is it legal?

[izmas]

Hi,

I had a quick question. Is it legal to create a domain with a specific company's name such as "CompanySucks.com" or "CompanyReviews.com" as long as it is reviews or criticism that is fair? Does it fall under free speech? I have seen a lot of domains and developed sites like that in the past.

Thanks!

 

[lzy]

Yes. As long as you show that you do not profit from doing so. Then you're pretty safe.

 

[owntype]

I have run 2 company sucks sites for more than 2 years, no any issue.

As lzy said, you are safe as long as you do not profit from it.

 

[izmas]

Thanks for your reply lzy,

Some review job sites have ads on them. So sometimes a company's URL would be jobreviewsdomain.com/Company. I am assuming this is legal to have ads on this because it is free speech and everyone can contribute. What happens when someone buys a domain like "companyreviews.com"and forwards it to "jobreviewsdomain.com/company" without profiting from it?

Yes. As long as you show that you do not profit from doing so. Then you're pretty safe.

 

[-REECE-]

Free speech or not, one threatening letter to many registrars and it's not really going to matter unless you have money to fight it.

IMO, "CompanySucks" type domains are asking for trouble - legal or not. Look at all the trouble RipOffReport has gotten into despite supposedly being "free speech". Free speech nowadays seems to mean say what you want until you anger someone with money.

Hi,

I had a quick question. Is it legal to create a domain with a specific company's name such as "CompanySucks.com" or "CompanyReviews.com" as long as it is reviews or criticism that is fair? Does it fall under free speech? I have seen a lot of domains and developed sites like that in the past.

Thanks!

 

[tristanperry]

PayPalSucks.com got sued, and they won the case. They're put a notice on their website explaining how [Company]sucks.com isn't a legal trouble. Not sure how accurate it is though.

 

[Dave_Z]

PayPalSucks.com got sued, and they won the case.

They never really got sued:

PayPalSucks.com FAQ, answering your domain name dispute questions, and sometimes, your hate mail.

They just showed PayPal they were RAW (Ready, Able, Willing) to dispute their dispute. PayPal apparently never bothered them since then, even though they've got one thing potentially against PayPalSucks.

 

[DubDubDubDot]

If you can show a non infringing use of it from a commercial standpoint, you should be alright. Simply owning companysucks.com is considered cyber squatting until you develop it. WIPO takes away undeveloped sucks domains every single time.

 

[Jaco]

Based on what I've read, the oar that rows a domain from "free speech" into copyright infringement seems to be commercial interest, but a lot of this seems to be in that mushy "test case area" where existing case law isn't solid enough to convince a well funded corporate lawyer to lay off.

Here's a page on EFF that, while blog-centric, addresses a number of relevant points and sources quality data to back it up.

Intellectual Property | Electronic Frontier Foundation

Can I use a trademark in my blog's name or in the title of a blog post?

Yes, if it is relevant to the subject of your discussion and does not confuse people into thinking the trademark holder endorses your content. Courts have found that non-misleading use of trademarks in URLs and domain names of critical websites is fair. (Bally Total Fitness Holding Corp. v. Faber, URL http://www.compupix.com/ballysucks; Bosley Medical Institute v. Kremer, domain name www.bosleymedical.com). Companies can get particularly annoyed about these uses because they may make your post appear in search results relating to the company, but that doesn't give them a right to stop you.

 

[telking]

I have run 2 company sucks sites for more than 2 years, no any issue.

As lzy said, you are safe as long as you do not profit from it.

I squat all the time and make thousands. Most people here are AFRAID.

its pretty funny

 

[Jaco]

I squat all the time and make thousands. Most people here are AFRAID.

its pretty funny

Yup, and when you get your first judgment entered against you (with damages), you'll give it all back and then some... In the year 2009, to say that squatting is playing with fire is a massive understatement.

 

[Sam]

In the year 2009, to say that squatting is playing with fire is a massive OVERSTATEMENT.

Like I've always stated before, AS LONG as your not a plain idiot, and ask 100,000$ or put porn ads on kid names, most if not all companies are more then happy for you to just push the domain back to them, or just even delete them.

Many times, they will refund you registration fee, in which case you can quote NetSol !

These scary stories are told from purists, which i have no hate for, but of course will exaggerate to scare those who are not pure.

Source: C&D by a few companies, including google.

Stop the fear mongering, get the facts, name me 500 cases of domain squatting with damages, and ill buy you a beer, in the entire history of domaining, with millions of typos already registered... no one ever won my $50 challenge . How sad!

That being said:

IF you want to do white business in domains, by all means to do so. If you want to do grey business, by all means do so. If you want to do black, good luck !

But don't fear monger. Reminds me of Dick Cheney

CLEAR EXCEPTIONS: MSN <--- stay away

 

[Dave_Z]

I squat all the time and make thousands. Most people here are AFRAID.

Well, if you're not within the trademark holders' reach, that's understandable. Enjoy while you can.

 

[dtagr]

In my opinion (not a legal opinion)my only consideration is - Does the company owe you money?

One restaurant owed me less than $300 for services rendered and ignored my collection attempts for nearly 2 years. I put up a namelessrestaurantsux(.)com, 6 weeks later it showed up in the SERP's for geo restaurants and I got my money and took the site down.

I don't know what my legal position was but I would do it again if I had to.