TM issues, if I had a nickel for every time…

[slaughterbeck]

Needless to say around here we read the dreaded “possible TM issues” a few, oh well, maybe more than a few times each day in the appraisal forum.

For this post I would like to know which companies scare you the most and if you have ever received a cease and desist letter?

 

[Smith]

I've lost count over the years.

Really they aren't anything to freak out over, if you're in the wrong most of the time emailing your register and asking them to delete the name is more than enough, don't even have to reply to the C&D or sign anything stating you won't register another name etc.

Really the only ones I'm scared of are the full out Vegas strip casinos that don't send the C&D's, just lawsuits.

 

[IAmAllanShore]

My tolerance for risk has dropped considerably recently, but I've never been to keen on encroaching anywhere near Microsoft, eBay, or Big Banks.
I'm such a pansy
-Allan

 

[equity78]

I think your smart allan not a pansy, ITS smart business and ethical business if you know the name is not yours move on, unless showing the world you have no original ideas or creativity is a personal goal.

 

[earn100]

NEVER EVER mess around with trademark doesn't matter how big or small a company is. It all depend how active the trademark owner/company is in keeping themselves info about somebody else using a trademark.
I learned this hardway when a NON-PROFIT association sued me for using their association abbreviation + a keyword "shop" .com. I didn't lose anything except the domain name + $200 in lawyer fee. My lawyer said i can keep fighting and would win the case but didn't want to waste my energy and money for a domain name making me average $80.00/month so i decided to give up.
From that day onwards no more trademark domain for me.

 

[dabb]

I got a C&D just about a month ago, and it was enough to make me deregister the domain in question as well as a few other ones that were potential timebombs after rechecking the UDRP database and finding very recent filings. If you have any questionable ones, check the UDRP database before you register a name to see if the company has a history of going after TM infringers. However, even if there's no URDPs, it doesn't mean you still won't get a C&D. The company that sent it to me had only filed one UDRP in the past 1.5 years. And I know that they sent multiple C&Ds to a few others as well, not just me.