PGR3.COM - Project Gotham Racing 3

[000]

UPDATE: Clearance received from Microsoft!
UPDATE: This site is result #4 of 635,000 in Google for "pgr3"!!

The other day I purchased the domain www.pgr3.com from someone else. This domain is really an AMAZING name (imho), because Project Gotham Racing 3 just came out for the Xbox 360, and the series is wildly popular (possibly the most popular racing series at the moment). What's more, the game's official site is located at www.projectgothamracing3.com !

The domain is getting around 100 unique type-ins per day with absolutely no site (I set it to forward to my PGR forums just last night).

Oh, and about TM issues....I have thought this through, and I see no legal reason that would enable Bizarre Creations (the developer) to take the domain from me. After all, it is just a combination of letters. Please correct me if I am wrong here.

Anyway, I am thinking about shooting an offer at Bizarre Creations (the developer), but I do not know how much to ask for it.

Thank you for any input!

Comments are welcome, as long as they are intelligent

 

[maroulis]

lol that's funny no TM issues just random chars/numbers .com....this is hilarious...

you have NO chance on this.... like absolutely no chance... i'd be happy to buy it off you for reg fee though and see how long it takes to receive a legal threatening letter LOL

 

[000]

lol that's funny no TM issues just random chars/numbers .com....this is hilarious...

you have NO chance on this.... like absolutely no chance... i'd be happy to buy it off you for reg fee though and see how long it takes to receive a legal threatening letter LOL

FYI, they do not own PGR2.com, and PGR3.com has been registered for 1-1/2 years without any action being taken. You sound like I just registered it yesterday.

PGR is NOT a registered trademark of theirs, so how could they sue me for owning PGR3.com? I do not even have a site on the domain that could be confused with the official site.

As a simple Google search shows, "PGR" is used for many different things, it is not strictly for "Project Gotham Racing" (i.e., Parent Governor Representatives, ProGRessive, etc).

With that in mind, I see absolutely no reason whatsoever that they could take this domain from me. Again, please correct me if I am wrong - by providing proof.

Please keep comments a little more intellectual from here on.

Thanks!

 

[Domainating]

LOL...

I think this is funny as well. Remember, a Trademark does NOT have to be registered in order to be a defensible trademark. I don't think you have a leg to stand on IF they came after the name. They use this specific logo within the game and on commercials.

BUT I do not think they will come after you.

You are using the name for Project Gotham Racing forums, which can show bad faith as you are marketing to the traffic of this domain. It's plain and simple. Having done this for even one day will peg that.

But WILL they come after you? I doubt it. There are plenty of XBOX names that Microsoft could go after first. Why don't they? Gaming is a fan supported industry, just like sports. If they go after the fans that want to indentify with a product which they believe in, why go after them? To do so is suicide.

Beleive me, I know they can get your domain if they want it. But thank your lucky stars that the video game industry encourages this type of fan participation. Take advantage of it, I know I do.

-Doug

 

[000]

Thanks for the insight, I appreciate it.

 

[000]

Do you think that I would be making a mistake by making a fansite with PGR3 game information? And by this I mean, of course, a site that clearly states that it is only a fansite, not the official site.

By the way, there are 786,000 Google results for "PGR3".

 

[TUFKATH]

I think making a fan site would be a great idea. What are you going to call it though?

 

[000]

I think making a fan site would be a great idea. What are you going to call it though?

I don't know, haha. That would be kinda hard to think of a title when the domain is PGR3.com :hehe:

 

[JaxForum]

has lucas arts ever come after you for KOTORtalk.com ? If not, then I wouldn't worry about the pgr developer saying anything.

 

[Refrozen]

It might be hard to sell though, because to sell well you'd have to market it as a PGR domain, in which case, it may end up a trademark infringment.

Tough call.

 

[JaxForum]

I would build an "unofficial" fan site around it. Put up some forums. Who would want to type out projectgothamracing3.com when they can just type pgr3.com
You can always try to place ads on it for 1 mont (and nope ms doesn't find out), then resell it to some chuck and keep the change.

 

[000]

Thanks for the input! I'm thinking that I will build an unofficial fansite, and just make it clear that it is not associated with Bizarre Creations, etc. In that case, assuming the site got big, Bizarre would not want to take it from me since that would build a bad reputation for them. So in the event that I wanted to sell, the site would be established enough that potential buyers would feel comfortable knowing that nothing had been done up to that time.

Plus, I'm sure that if they really wanted the domain that much they would have (1) registered it, or (2), taken it already.

 

[Domainating]

Yeah, I think an unofficial fan site where you are supporting the PGR3 game and gamer community is a great way to show good faith as an alternative to the official site (which could be more biased as they have an invested interest in the game).

Remember that criticism of the game's weak points should also be encouraged. This is where being an impartial 3rd party will pay-off as a help that they will not get at the official site. This way you are providing an unbiased alternative to the official support/gaming site.

Also remember that gaming publishers and developers like to see home grown support and fan sites. In fact, there have been instances where unofficial websites and webmasters wind-up being the official website/webmaster (mostly with bands), and if you did a great job at it, you might just impress someone.

-Doug

 

[000]

Thanks for the great advice! I am currently working at getting a nice fansite layout done, although I am slightly considering the possibility of parking the name at Sedo and maybe getting some nice cash for it. I'm not sure, but at the moment I think I will get a fansite developed.

 

[000]

OK, here is an update

- I put up a fansite (not done yet, but it's set up).
- I've had no complaints about the site/domain
- Unique hits are up to 150 uniques per day
- Result #4 of 635,000 in Google for "PGR3" (no SEO, and the site was just put up on Tuesday!)
- I have managed to aquire the PR5 domain www.projectgr3.com, which is result #2 of 539,000 at Yahoo for "PGR3"

Do you guys like what I've done so far? If I were to sell the site (I honestly don't foresee any problems with Microsoft or the developer - they like fansites), how much do you think I could get for it? I doubt that I will be selling anytime soon, but I was just wondering. Also, I am planning on putting up some ads soon...what would ya'll recommend? Adsense is best I hear, but apparently you need to go through some process with the IRS or something to get paid.

Thanks, and Happy New Years!

 

[000]

Anyone? I would really like some input on this.

Thanks for any help

 

[000]

Today I got a response from Bizarre Creations:

Hi Tom,

I’ve followed this up with Microsoft (as they are the trademark owners for the Project Gotham Racing series) and they’ve given it the thumbs up as long as you comply with a few conditions – I’ve pasted their response below:

“Tom Hinks can build a PGR3 fan site provided he complies with the following 3 criteria:

1) Non-commercial = Tom can use the fan site strictly and only for not-for-profit purposes

2) Trademark reference = Tom should use the language below to reference that Project Gotham Racing is a trademark of Microsoft everywhere in his works.

"Project Gotham Racing is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Microsoft Corp. and Bizarre Creations have ownership of the names, logo, artwork, marks, photographs, sounds, audio, video and/or any proprietary material used in connection with the Project Gotham Racing trademark. Bizarre Creations and Microsoft Corp. do not endorse, and are not affiliated with (insert his name or the name of his company) in any official capacity whatsoever."

3) Link to PGR3’s official site = Tom should provide a prominent link to the official PGR3 site on his fan site.”

So there you are! Obviously we’d like a link to www.bizarreonline.net on there as well if you think it’ll be suitable

Good luck with the site, and we look forward to watching it develop from its great start!

All the best,

Sarah

So I guess I will only be able to put up ads at the forum (separate domain) and not the site. But besides that I'm all clear

Also, does the "non-commercial" part mean that I can't sell the site? I mean, I guess that it would technically...but should I be scared to openly put it on the market?

Thanks again for any input!