Dazed and Confused about Sedo Deletion!

[Lewstar]

Hey All-Pros,

Sedo just e-mailed me that they "unparked" my domain name AmandaByrnes.com because someone complained of copyright infringement.

I bought the name because it's a one-letter-misspelling of Amanda Bynes, currently co-starring in "Hairspray," a very popular movie amongst the young and the young-at-heart. And I have been getting a fair amount of views.

When I received the Sedo e-mail, I googled "Amanda Byrnes" and discovered there's another youthful actress named Amanda Byrnes--not nearly as well known as Amanda Bynes. Plus, there are tons of other people named Amanda Byrnes according to Google. It seems to be a fairly common name.

Should I expect a legal demand from Amanda Byrnes' people demanding that I forfeit my domain name, and if so, do I have any legal standing?

Any help you offer will be much appreciated.

Lew Riley

 

[DNQuest.com]

I haven't ranted in a while... wanted to stay in practice. But it more for the others who read this and hope at least they will learn.

 

[jberryhill]

Should johnberryhill.com belong to our fellow NP member John Berryhill or should he only be entitled to DrJohnBerryhill.com or should he be entitled to own everything from JB.com - JohnathanBerryhill.com ( Sorry John for using your name as a example )

No problem. John Berryhill is a well-known caterer in Idaho, and berryhill.com belongs to a Jon Berryhill in California. There is a Dr. John Berryhill who is a school administrator in Oklahoma, and a John Berryhill who is a preacher in Texas. There is a Professor Wade Berryhill, who teaches law in Virginia, and so on...

No, I don't feel like registering every variation of my name as a domain name. However, if you were to register some variation of my name, and unlike other people using various domains, (a) you are NOT one of the many John Berryhill's and (b) your registration and use of the domain name appears to be an effort to make money off of my reputation then, yes, I'll probably have a problem with you.

Nobody is saying you can't register variations of your name as a domain name. When you register variations of other people's names, though, then certain questions about your motivation and intent arise.

Or, let's change the facts, if you registered some variation of "John Berryhill" and started using it for catering services, then I'd probably contact John Berryhill the caterer in Idaho (we know each other, but are no relation) and let him know about it.

Conversely, it is true that there are parties in various countries that have trademarks comprising or consisting of "Berryhill", such as the Berryhill Baja Restaurant franchise out of Austin, Texas. No, they don't have a claim against my use of my name for legal services, but they would definitely have a legitimate claim if I started using my surname to open up a chain of Tex-Mex restaurants.

Back to the point, however: I take it from you and the other "posters" on this board that I should get rid of such domain names as Davri.com, RyanSeecrest.com and JessicaBeel.com--even though they perform a positive function (and generate a goodly number of views). And that function is to direct people to the locations they are looking for but can't find because 1) they are poor spellers and/or 2) English spellings often don't make sense.

...and if I walk into your house, decide that your walls need some painting, and commence to providing the positive service of painting your walls, I'm sure at some point you are going to wonder where I get off thinking I have a right to just wander onto your property and start doing you favors.

In closing, I would thank the first two respondents to my query for offering their opinions, but I can see that I should save legal questions for legal experts--if I can't find the answers after performing my own thorough research.

If you are going to define "expert" as "people who say things I agree with", then that's something of a cramped definition.

I don't know if I'm an "expert", but I know a thing or two about domain disputes. Having looked at "Jessicabeel.com" and seen the link stating "Log-on Now for Jessica Biel! Naked Photos of Jessica Biel", I can say without reservation that the actress is not going to agree with your contention that you are doing her a favor of some kind.

 

[jberryhill]

WOW Nice news YAY you are so smart WOW very popular WOW.

Heh.

 

[Ronald Regging]

I would add that these creative misspellings come to me while I'm either writing for pay or teaching writing classes. I'm not a flunky-cybersquatter who has no other source of income.

Your profession has no bearing on the legality of your actions... Crime isn't exclusive to socio-economic classes, nor is it permissible or justifiable by one over the other. Even given our justice system, where money is the best defense, I assure you that their wallet is fatter than thou.

Either way, you registered these domains for the explicit reason of profiting off of someone else's TM or brand. This action makes you a flunky cybersquatter, regardless of your other attributes...

Personally I don't care if you're a squatter or not, but if you are, don't try to justify it and pretend that you aren't.