Shouldn't Domain Registrars also be held accountable 4 obvious TM infringement?

[Red Rock]

OK, I'm brand new here, so I apologize for my ignorance.
I have registered close to 1000 domains.
I just posted a thread for a domain appraisal for 12 of mine.
My first response was from someone informing me that some of my names were TM potential problems.
Thx to him I edited and basically it is a blank thread, now.

Well,
As I see it,
Domains are the hot new real estate.
So, everyday people like me, are trying to find new "real estate"
This seems like a great investment.
Of course we want to associate some sort of brandability with our own personal spin.
For instance...MySpaceWhores.com
Ok, 2 words are trademarked, 1 word is generic, and we all know that is a word that sells!
As, I hit search, then call in that name to one of the largest Domain registrars...
All I am thinking is Wow, I cant believe this is available!
Hurry up & take my $$$ then it's mine!
Cool.

Now, shouldn't these Registrars, also be held accountable?
They should not have sold it!
Sure they may not know that JitteryJoesCoffee, is going to be one of the hottest new coffees, coming public.
But they sure as hell know MySpace, Chevy, Coke, etc.
Shouldn't there be some accountability on their part for whats right and wrong?
Red Rock

 

[snowbird]

If you are talking about registering a new available domain, no the registrar should not be held accountable. The registrar is responsible for telling you what domains are available and what domains are taken. If the domain is available, then you can register it. They are assuming that the person that registers the domain understands the risks of registering a trademarked name. It is not the job of the registrar to police what domains can be registered and what domains cant due to trademarks. The only time a registrar puts trademark restrictions on a registration is during a landrush which is when a new extension comes out. But other than that, you are mainly responsible for the registration and I am sure that the terms of service contract more than coveres them from the legal issues you are describing.

 

[npcomplete]

First of all, Welcome to NP! This is a great place to learn, and I would suggest digging through the archives on a variety of topics.

Now for the answer to your question:

Short answer is "NO". Ignorance of the law is not an excuse. Of course knowing the laws and then engaging in flagrant disregard is worse.

Requiring the registrars to do a detailed WORLDWIDE search for marks from all countries would kill the ability of registrars to conduct their business. Just like driving, there is a burden on the driver to know the laws and obey them. It is not the states fault if you fail to know the laws of your state when driving.

Before clicking the reg button, make sure that you have at least conducted a reasonable search of major TM registries. Furthermore, a mark does not have to be registered to acquire legal protection. How on earth would a registrar check for unregistered trademarks? That is where personal responsibility comes in. At least make a good faith effort to demonstrate that you are not a flagrant abuser of intellectual property rights.

This legal forum is the best place to learn, so again I would recommend digging into the archives where issues like these have been addressed many times in the past.

Marc

 

[Red Rock]

Thx 4 your responses

As a Newbie,
I guess I will have to learn the hard way. LOL
I checked the box of understanding all of the rules to registering,
But did not read all of them, My Huge Bad!
I will definitely hang out and read alot more, and do more of my required homework, before making further purchases!
Hope I'm not the only one who has done this...LOL
Thx,
Red Rock!

 

[DNQuest.com]

Of course we want to associate some sort of brandability with our own personal spin.
For instance...MySpaceWhores.com

There are laws againt this.

Take the time to read the legal section, it will help go a long way.

 

[TT]

1000 x $6.15 = $6150.00 in wasted money

Oh yea and the 100's of thousands in fines and legal fee's

You made a great investment.....

 

[Red Rock]

Hey TT

Thx for the sarcasm!
Nice "This topic sucks" logo.
Did you see my humble remarks about being New?
Are you having fun, being an insulting prima-donna, huh?

And no, I did not register 1000 bad domains.
Only a few that could be questionable.
thx for the welcome wagon, ya A$$!
Red Rock!

 

[DropWizard.com]

The problem for the registrars of course is that virtually every word has a TM of some kind or another. It would take forever to individually check each registration. That's why it's up to you to know the law and make sure you're registering something valid or defendable.

Sort of like picking your way through a minefield.

 

[Ronald Regging]

Alright, lets try to keep this civil

Everyone makes mistakes when they first start out, as there is a rather steep learning curve in this business. The important part is that you ask for help, identify the mistakes and take actions to rectify them in the future. I think you are off to a good start in that respect.

Welcome to NP!

 

[unclewalter]

These are the problems people face when they go into the market blindfolded. People that have no experience domaining really should check out what is selling and what they can make a profit on before registering any domains. Whether they plan on investing $20 or $20k

 

[Red Rock]

Thk U for the advice.

I do now understand my mistake.
I do not plan on doing it again, and you guys are right...
How can a registrar be responsible for thousands of tm's???
No possible way.
Oh well, I would have been better off finding this site first.
Of course, I did it backwards. LOL
will do more homework, and this site is perfect for that!
I appreciate the wealth of free information, and advice.
Thx Alot,
Red Rock!

 

[liquidcherry]

Thx for the sarcasm!
Nice "This topic sucks" logo.
Did you see my humble remarks about being New?
Are you having fun, being an insulting prima-donna, huh?

And no, I did not register 1000 bad domains.
Only a few that could be questionable.
thx for the welcome wagon, ya A$$!
Red Rock!

LOL Redrock, right on, i love your response.....(welcome BTW)

Everyone new to the game makes mistakes, sarcasm against others is just a way for someone to deal with their own mistakes in the past.....

In my opinion, in the domain business it is a very small path between beeing a cybersquatting, rule breaking, sellfish individual or a true name investor, speculating, considering or even guessing....but only if you are following my rule:"if it smells like TM, don't regg it!!" you ill be SAFE!!

If you registered TM names(like i did before when i was"young") just delete the name, (if not possible because your registrar is not providing this option)
let it sit there, don't park it or anything else, no selling at all, even some would say so......

Hang in here, our community, and go through every thread what interests you....but i see, you are already hooked ,like i see in your response and i have no doubt about it......

Cheers,

Frank

 

[IAmAllanShore]

The registrars should be held responsible so long as Dell should also be held responsible for making the computer you typed on, and Mastercard for being the method you paid with

Now as far as the aftermarkets having to share some responsibility is concerned... completely different question; especially if that aftermarket highlights for live auction an obvious TM term, etc.

Same issue, to me, if a seller hides the fact that he/she received a C&D before selling the domain, thereby attempting to "pass off" the trouble onto the buyer.

-Allan :gl:

 

[BitcoinDK]

Just think of it this way...

You want a company to be held accountable for an illegal action you as an individuel make?

If the registrars should be held accountable, then should

- the weapon company also be held accountable, if one uses there weapon to kill?
- google be held accountable for listing sites with illegal content, when one uses there search engine?

I know they in USA are a little bit sue crazy, and sue companies for everything they can think of, but come on...

I dont know if its true, but I have heard a story that one american sued a microoven company, because the company had not warned, that it would not be such a good idea to put a living cat in the microoven, and guess what the person did come on...

This is not ment agains america, which I dont have anything agains, Im form Denmark

 

[npcomplete]

LOL Redrock, right on, i love your response.....(welcome BTW)

Everyone new to the game makes mistakes, sarcasm against others is just a way for someone to deal with their own mistakes in the past.....

In my opinion, in the domain business it is a very small path between beeing a cybersquatting, rule breaking, sellfish individual or a true name investor, speculating, considering or even guessing....but only if you are following my rule:"if it smells like TM, don't regg it!!" you ill be SAFE!!

If you registered TM names(like i did before when i was"young") just delete the name, (if not possible because your registrar is not providing this option)
let it sit there, don't park it or anything else, no selling at all, even some would say so......

Hang in here, our community, and go through every thread what interests you....but i see, you are already hooked ,like i see in your response and i have no doubt about it......

Cheers,

Frank

Excellent advice Frank. We all started at some point, and made the same mistakes. You are in the right place here to minimize your mistakes - just read the forum archives.

A member here, Danielr, made a suggestion in *another* forum recently on how to delete domains. The OP in the other forum was complaining about how they deleted their domain at the registrar, but the whois info still showed them as the contact months later. This apparently happens. Danielr suggested that the best way to "clean the slate" is create a fake account with throwaway contact info using a fake name etc. Then push the TM domain into the fake account. Once it is safely in the new fake account, delete the domain. This way if the registrar decides to keep it for the remainder of the registration period, the records will show "John Doe" as the last owner contact.

It is important to minimize the amount of information showing you as a squatter. Of course the best way is "don't squat", but sometimes things happen. A pattern of TM infringement can be used against you in a WIPO case. Taking the steps Danielr suggested seemed like a good step in keeping your record squeaky clean. Of course it would be nice to have the registrar update the records, but sometimes it is easier to take preventive measures in case the registrar doesn't update things.

Marc

 

[TT]

Thx for the sarcasm!
Nice "This topic sucks" logo.
Did you see my humble remarks about being New?
Are you having fun, being an insulting prima-donna, huh?

And no, I did not register 1000 bad domains.
Only a few that could be questionable.
thx for the welcome wagon, ya A$$!
Red Rock!

Red Rock I read and re-read your OP

It did not state that you only regged a few TM infringing names.

My sarcasm comes from many years of being here and reading until my eyes were bleeding and then reading more.

I am a registered TM owner and to tell you the truth it's one of the biggest pains in the ass trying to have people such as yourself (new to the biz looking to make a buck or two at my expense) Stop registering TM protected names, So heres some more math.

1 TM infringement domain
$1500.00 UDRP process
$1500.00 Lawyers to write complaint
$xxxxx.xx Potential losses from consumers thinking they are dealing with the TM Holder

BTW thanks for the compliment on my gif

 

[DropWizard.com]

To be fair to Red Rock it was my post that he refers to.

To his credit I had an email within 2 minutes asking for more information about TM issues and he immediately edited his post and asked how he could deal with the infringing domains.

That's a great attitude from someone who made a mistake and he has publicly confessed to making such a mistake.

Kudos to him (her?)

Contrast that to this idiot:

http://www.namepros.com/domain-appraisals/421820-list-of-great-somewhat-good-domains.html

I'm almost motivated to write the companies involved just to give him a reality check....

BTW if all else fails kill the nameservers for the domains so a blank page results. Just check and make sure your registrar doesn't generate a ppc page for errors. If they do put the domain in their name and/or tell them to cut that domain out of the process.

 

[nicholas]

Holding registrars accountable would be like holding the phone company liable for obscene phone calls, or ISPs for Internet porn.

It'd be nice to have someone else to share your burden, but in the end, you're free to register as you please as long you can live with the consequences because even if there was a way to flag the million and one possible ways a name can be a potential TM issue, there's possibly no way for a registrar to enforce it or make such a system work.

 

[Red Rock]

Ok, I honestly get it...thx to all of you!

OK,
of course, like I stated, I am new to this biz/hobby.
I truly get it.
Drop izard, you are awesome, in helping me to realize what a stupid mistake I have made.
Yours was the first msg. I received after I put up my appraisal of some questionable domains.
That got me to thinking, shouldnt registrars be held accountable.
WHOA!
I definitely see the answer to that.
Gun companies be accountable for killings...LOL
Microsoft be held accountable for smut...LOL
Of Course, It is as plain as day!
The last thing I want to do, is do things the wrong way.
I will call the regristrar and try to drop any questionable domains I own, today.
Please, all of you veteran's out there...do not think people like me want to come into this business and rock the boat!
That's the last thing "I" want to do.
It's just my sheer ignorance.
Every once in a while I type in a search, and think..GOLD!
That's it.
Not much more thought to it.
Just my ignorance.
No disrespect, whatsoever.
So, to all of you established NamePro members,
plz do not take my mistakes as a personal slam to you or this industry.
DropWizard, thx 4 the kudo's.
Man, some of you guys are brutal. LOL
Hey is that gonna be me...in 6 months, when I'm a Pro at this..LMAO!
No, just kidding.
Thank you all, I have read and re-read all of these replies.
Hope to see more of everyone and not be shunned from NamePro's!
LOL,
Red Rock!

 

[BitcoinDK]

Kudos to you Red Rock.

I always have respect for people, who can accept that they have done a wrong thing, and try to make it ok again, big applaus from me.

Believe me I have done my part and Im sure also ten other guys part of wrong doings

Best regards and good luck to you in the future.