Please check into this

[gafadi]

hey guys i got a mail today

I see that you have registered many domain names using the REALTOR marks. As a matter of fact, we own the term REALTOR and REALTORS in many of these countries or have cooperative agreements with real estate associations or institutes in some of these countries. Since you are in the United States and also have registered the Marks with state abbreviations, I would like to know what you had planned to do with these domain names, but none-the-less we request that you do not use any domain name that has utilized our Members's Marks. I also would like to inform you that the National Association maintains a careful watch over products and services which utilize the REALTOR marks in their marketing. There is a serious risk of confusion regarding the sponsorship, endorsement or participation of the National Association in connection with such products. Because of this risk, the National Association does not license third parties to use its marks in connection with the names of the products and services of those third parties.
To eliminate this potential source of conflict, we would appreciate your cooperation in revising these domain names to eliminate the use of the membership marks. Many times this is as simple as substituting an appropriate job title for the term being used, for example, real estate broker can often be used without making any other changes to the text. If you would like to read more about trademarks and the rights of trademark owners, there are a number of sites on the Internet, which address this topic.

We are attempting to track our efforts in connection with the Internet and request that you acknowledge your understanding of this request for your cooperation and provide us with your estimate of when we can expect to see your site updated. Thank you for your help and we look forward to receiving your reply.

Mary Newill, Trademark Administrator
Legal Affairs Department
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS

its my brother who owns several domain with word realtor and he registered the domain in order to devlope a site , domain such as

realtoraustria.com, realtorbelgium.com, realtorcroatia.com, realtordenmark.com, realtorfinland, realtorfrance.com, realtorgermany.com, realtorhongkong.com, realtoril.com, realtorireland.com, realtorisrael.com, realtoritaly.com, realtorjordan.com, realtorkorea.com, realtorks.com

What can he do ? well realtor is a dictonary word , what can he response.

 

[evertonian7uk]

is the whole email there?? cause there seems to be some missing here:

Because of this risk, the National Associat

 

[JGK]

I'm not knowledgeable enough to offer legal advice on this, but I will provide these for you to look into:

Another Realtor domain TM discussion

And another

And another

There are more, but that should be a start.

 

[Gene]

The word "realtor" is a word that was created by the realty industry. They created it. They own it. It has become such common terminology that it has been placed in the dictionary, but is NOT a generic word. You cannot use the word realtor in your domain without violating their trademark, unless you are a member of their association and adhere to their strict guidelines for usage.

 

[Mark]

http://www.realtor.org/letterlw.nsf/pages/trademarkmanual
http://www.realtor.org/rmomag.nsf/pages/lawoct04
http://www.aaronline.com/documents/trademark.aspx
http://www.laborlawtalk.com/showthread.php?t=110202

http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&rls=GGLG,GGLG:2008-04,GGLG:en&q=site:wipo.int+realtor

http://www.uspto.gov/main/trademarks.htm

If the email is from a legit source ... You should take it seriously (IMO).

 

[Ronald Regging]

From what I have heard, they also aggressively enforce that TM.

So, I'd probably just hand them over in this case, unless like Gene stated, your brother is an authorized agent and is adhering to their policies.

 

[jberryhill]

The situation in the US with respect to the Realtor mark has been beat to death here several times.

Yes, a domainer recently challenged the mark at the USPTO and, yes, the domainer lost.

 

[PowerUp]

So does this mean that nobody else in this whole wide world is allowed to use the word "realtor"? what about realtor.cctld like... .in, .de, .fr .au .nz? They have jurisdiction over the cctlds too?

 

[Corey]

your brother could become a realtor and join
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS

 

[Dave_Z]

So does this mean that nobody else in this whole wide world is allowed to use the word "realtor"? what about realtor.cctld like... .in, .de, .fr .au .nz? They have jurisdiction over the cctlds too?

That's actually what I'm thinking after seeing the domain names listed. Realtor
is a collective mark in the U.S., but how about other countries since each of
those domain names appear to target them respectively?

In fairness, that letter is...mild.

 

[DNQuest.com]

your brother could become a realtor and join
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS

And you still cannot use Realtor unless you have written permission from the NAR. They do put tight restictions on the usage of the term, even on their own members. This is fully disclosed when you do join. This is what I understand:

Correct usage

DNQuest.com
Realtor®

incorrect uage
dnquestrealtor.com

 

[Gene]

This format is also usually permitted if you're a member of the NAR: JohnDoeRealtor.com

 

[GF]

And you still cannot use Realtor unless you have written permission from the NAR. They do put tight restictions on the usage of the term, even on their own members. This is fully disclosed when you do join. This is what I understand:

Correct usage

DNQuest.com
Realtor®

incorrect uage
dnquestrealtor.com

The correct way to use the term is "REALTOR®" not "Realtor®"

 

[IAmAllanShore]

In fairness, that letter is...mild.

That email makes "mild" look downright ferocious.

I'm not sure if they are attempting to catch more flies with honey, or if she is new to the office, but it doesn't feel like the same sort of letter we see posted here repeatedly.

-Allan :gl:

 

[mwzd]

Thats a classy letter.

I wish other people could use similar language and taste when sending c&ds :D Makes the whole thing palatable.

I would not ignore it if I were you.