Funny threat - Please read...

[OttoYiu]

Hey NP,

Anyways, here's the background. There was this moderator/admin I recruited as a volunteer for my free host. Then, things got sour when he tried to sell the site as if he owns the site. Of course, I found out and banned him...

Well, 6 months later. He registers my portfolio website as a company of Michigan state and threatens me for the ownership of the domain.

The domain has been registered since 2007, and his company has just been registered in March, 2009.

Anyways, can anyone shed light of ICANN's policy on this, or?

I'm not just going to give up my domain like this.

Domain is http://fusedfiber.com

Thanks,
Otto

Dear Mr. Otto Yiu:

It has come to our attention that you are using our company name, Fused Fiber without our written permission, in domain name fusedfiber.com. Because of this you are violating our intellectual copyright rights. Fused Fiber LLC is a limited liability company formed out of the state of Michigan, and only Fused Fiber LLC may own a domain containing Fused Fiber, or Fused Fiber LLC.

Fused Fiber LLC is registered in Michigan as a Limited Liability Company, ID Number E38555. You may view it here. http://www.dleg.state.mi.us/bcs_corp/dt_llc.asp?id_nbr=E38555&name_entity=FUSED FIBER LLC

I hereby demand you transfer fusedfiber.com to its rightful owner, Fused Fiber LLC.

This is a good will attempt to resolve this issue. Failure to reply to this email within 12 hours will suggest you do not want to cooperate and further litigation will be pursued by Michigan and Federal Law, as well as ICANN's uniform domain dispute resolution policy.

Greatest Regard,

Daniel J. Gagnon
Chief Executive Officer
Fused Fiber LLC
A state of Michigan, USA based Limited Liability Company
State ID Number E38555

 

[Dave_Z]

only Fused Fiber LLC may own a domain containing Fused Fiber, or Fused Fiber LLC.

http://domains.adrforum.com/domains/decisions/1214404.htm

Trademark rights do not automatically confer domain name rights and vice-versa.

And that's if the other party does have a trademark for the term to begin with.
If you need a barrister, look up Zak Muscovitch since he's right up your alley.

On the side, I saw that name in an online forum somewhere. Can't place it.

 

[Domainace]

Hmmmm, his "copyright rights" are being violated. That must be twice as bad as having a copyright violated. :D

I love it when these guys try to impersonate lawyers.

He doesn't have a leg to stand on, and should be ashamed of himself. With the personal history, and the chronological order of events, I would say that you should be suing him.

 

[OttoYiu]

It's not worth the hassle, and the money to do so after consulting with a local attorney is just too heck of a lot - especially when it is across the borders. I had proof of him hacking our servers (social engineering) after we denied access to him, and sending spam using our email listing.

As well, he phoned me many times begging for me to forgive him, and to let him continue to moderate my forum. When I was just about to "forgive" him, he did the same to a site I sold at Sitepoint a few months ago - being power hungry, and banning almost everyone on that website.

It's just funny how after 6 months, he decides to register the same company name as mine. Mine being a sole proprietorship in Vancouver, and his being a LLC in Michigan. And now, he wants the domain name as well?

People these days...
Otto

 

[Dave_Z]

I'll say this, though, Otto, even though I'm not a lawyer. Based on what you
described here by far, IMHO the other party doesn't have a legitimate claim.

Oh, and unless I missed something, I can't find any Michigan law or so saying
having an LLC or whatever grants trademark rights anyway. UDRP has nothing
on company names having rights to domains unless they're used as TMs also,
and the other party still has to show that somehow.

Yup, people these days...

 

[AdoptableDomains]

Hmmmm, his "copyright rights" are being violated. That must be twice as bad as having a copyright violated. :D

I love it when these guys try to impersonate lawyers.

Not only that, you can't "copyright" a business name, but you can "trademark" it. The guy doesn't know the difference between a copyright and trademark. Actually a business registration is neither of these technically, and he probably wasted the MI registration fee to make this attempt.

If in fact you could copyright a single or compound word (I dont think you can),you would own the "copyright" if you wrote that word first.

As for Trademarks, your registration of the domain precedes his registration of the business, so I don't think his attempt at reverse domain hijacking will work with UDRP or anywhere else. However, if he tries, you will have to reply since he could win by default if you don't. If it gets to that point, you should counter the filing with a reverse hijacking counterclaim, which could permanantly mark him as the violator.

Also, his right to that name only extends to doing business in Michigan. He might be able to keep you from doing business in Michigan under that exact name in the same line of work, but not the rest of the US, Canada, or the World. You have the "TM" mark on the logo on your site. You "may" have the right to get a cease and desist on him if he actually tries to copy your logo.

 

[OttoYiu]

I replied saying that I won't be giving it to him, under "good will". Here's his reply:

From: Fused Fiber Network ([email protected])
Sent: March 26, 2009 9:48:01 AM
To: Otto Yiu

A big mistake, Otto.

Turns out he registered .us as his domain.

http://fusedfiber.us vs http://fusedfiber.com.


Thanks for all the input guys,

- Otto