Copyright/Trademark question

[sunilvarma]

Hi,

Here's a problem thats bugging me from a couple of days. I own a few .in domains - they are company names. I mean the same .com domain is being used by the respective companies.

Now, what I want to know is, can I get in touch with those companies and ask them to buy the respective .in domains? I mean can I sell them for a premium price? Will they ever buy them or will they decide to let their lawyer do the talking? Or is there any other way in which I can make some good money on these domains?

(Please don't laugh at me. I am totally new to the domains business and have no idea about the legal issues involved.)

Thanks

 

[slipondajimmy]

sure you can do that. Just be prepared for a bunch of legal letters Telling (not asking) for you to transfer the domain to them

 

[sunilvarma]

I think they only pay the transfer fee or anything more??

So what would be the best bet to get rid of these domains?

 

[slipondajimmy]

I dont know if they would even pay the reg fee. In your case its clear that you already had knowledge that domains you purchased might conflict with a company trademark.

Someone else might be able to post more info. But like I always say, if you are already aware that it could cause problems then why do it in the first place?

 

[DNQuest.com]

Listen here sun (pardon the pun)... This is the best advice of 2 you will ever receive here (the other is contacting a lawyer). But use the search box and type in "trademark" and read for a week. Then type in "TM" in the same search box and read all the other threads you missed the first time. You will save much time, headaches and money.... and I have a feeling you are wasting all 3 right now.

 

[sunilvarma]

Thanks for the replies. Now I understand that I am in deep shit.

 

[srisri24]

Hi sunil,

I also have a quite a few .in and co.in domains with TM and copy right issues. From what i learnt through forums is that Never register a TM issue domain. As we already did the only way out is just sell it to any one if you could so that u can recover reg fee. If you could not sell, dont renew it, u will be wasting more money.
The MOST IMPORTANT thing is to never contact the TM holder with a proposal to sell, this means you are inviting a problem.

Cheers Buddy
srisri24
www.18tillidie.com
www.theraising.com
www.redoole.com

 

[sunilvarma]

engadget - is that a trademarked/copyrighted name? (engadget.com is one of the best gadget sites out there)

 

[Keith]

engadget - is that a trademarked/copyrighted name? (engadget.com is one of the best gadget sites out there)

Go to uspto.gov and do a TM search. There you will find your answer.

keithmt

 

[sunilvarma]

thanks.

 

[stscac]

engadget - is that a trademarked/copyrighted name? (engadget.com is one of the best gadget sites out there)

Go to uspto.gov and do a TM search. There you will find your answer.

keithmt

uspto.gov covers only US marks. It's a risk that you'll be taking, it might pay off, it might not. If you get anything, don't expect to get over $1,200 US.

-Steve

 

[sunilvarma]

Whats about the 1,200? Is it a magic number or something?

I mean 1,200$ is all I need to get ma new phone!! anyone wanna buy this domain??

 

[stscac]

Whats about the 1,200? Is it a magic number or something?

I mean 1,200$ is all I need to get ma new phone!! anyone wanna buy this domain??

$1,200 is the amount to file a Domain Name Dispute with WIPO.

-Steve

 

[sunilvarma]

i see. thanks. me == n00b!!

 

[YesBrilliant]

Do you live in India? I suppose so. In this case, you still have a chance, even though slim chances depending on the case.

IF the TM names (or any of them) you registered are still available in your country, than you are perhaps safe, because a multinational company should have registered it long ago. A recent similar case is the Gmail TM in Germany that is owned by a german guy, not Google. Google sued him and Google lost. Anyway there are several other details that may have influenced that decision that may be, or not, similar to yours.

For sure:
1 - Never contact those companies.
2 - Never advertise those domains for sale.
3 - Never leave those domains parked. Instead, develop them IF you want to keep them.
4 - IF you want to keep them, never place any advertisements about that company or their competitors.

In case you want to end it now safely, just contact those companies saying that you have their domain name .in and you want to transfer it to their ownership. For free. No strings attached. They may say "Thank You" to you.

Or just forward your domains to their .com domains, saying nothing, and simply let them expire. They may never notice, but, if they do, then just act like above.

Possibilities:
1 - Lottery Win Like, Best Result - They pay you some amount of money.
2 - Plausible Result - They pay you reg fee.
3 - Worst Result - They sue you, you lose (the suit and the domains), and have to Pay all legal fees (including theirs) and up to US$100,000. in damages.

Anyway, to conclude - The only one who can tell you for almost sure is a lawyer with knowledge in Your national market regarding TMs and hopefully domains as well. Not easy to find, I guess.

Well, the best of luck.

 

[srisri24]

Do you live in India? I suppose so. In this case, you still have a chance, even though slim chances depending on the case.

IF the TM names (or any of them) you registered are still available in your country, than you are perhaps safe, because a multinational company should have registered it long ago. A recent similar case is the Gmail TM in Germany that is owned by a german guy, not Google. Google sued him and Google lost. Anyway there are several other details that may have influenced that decision that may be, or not, similar to yours.

For sure:
1 - Never contact those companies.
2 - Never advertise those domains for sale.
3 - Never leave those domains parked. Instead, develop them IF you want to keep them.
4 - IF you want to keep them, never place any advertisements about that company or their competitors.

In case you want to end it now safely, just contact those companies saying that you have their domain name .in and you want to transfer it to their ownership. For free. No strings attached. They may say "Thank You" to you.

Or just forward your domains to their .com domains, saying nothing, and simply let them expire. They may never notice, but, if they do, then just act like above.

Possibilities:
1 - Lottery Win Like, Best Result - They pay you some amount of money.
2 - Plausible Result - They pay you reg fee.
3 - Worst Result - They sue you, you lose (the suit and the domains), and have to Pay all legal fees (including theirs) and up to US$100,000. in damages.

Anyway, to conclude - The only one who can tell you for almost sure is a lawyer with knowledge in Your national market regarding TMs and hopefully domains as well. Not easy to find, I guess.

Well, the best of luck.

I Absolutely agree with you. Thanks for all the info, this will help all the newbies like me.
srisri24
www.theraising.com
www.thenaidu.com