- Impact
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I may regret sharing this, but it is a technique i have used three times and every time it has paid off, including today. If you have trouble running your business in the grey area, then you should probably pass on reading any further.
Disclaimers:
1) I don't support buying trademark names.
2) This should not be a way to make money, but instead a way to make lemon-aid from lemons.
Today I received an email from a TM holder claiming I had offered to sell them a TM'd name they own. Since I try to steer very clear of any TM issues, I was surprised. I went back and looked at my TM search results for that name. I usually save a screen shot of every TM search on a domain I end up owning. In this case they were right as I had made a typo in my search. But in the past I have also ended up with TM problems due to buying a portfolio with a TM name in it as part of the lot, so it can happen to anyone.
I immediately apologized for the mistake and offered to immediately drop the name, explaining what had happened. THIS IS IMPORTANT. By doing so I can tone down the relationship so that they can see it was not a purposeful infringement. I explained to them that I wouldn't be able to just transfer the name to them due to the 60 day lock.
Then I went on to explain a bit about the transfer process and the value of the particular domain. I explained what would happen when I dropped it. I explained why they may want to grab it for a defensive role if not an active use. I pointed out that they may be successful in grabbing it again, but it was unlikely due to all of the competition, especially for this high value domain. But I left them with a belief that they had a chance on their own. And I pointed out that they likely will be right back in this situation again if they weren't successful.. So by now I have established that it was an accident and that while I wanted to help, I really couldn't.
Then I explain about a push and the associated "push fee". In this case I used $500, but you can adjust according to the tone of the letter and who it is. I have gotten one higher and one lower in the past. Since I had already created the desire for them to own it, they saw this as a good route. I made sure to say it was completely voluntary and that if they didn't want to pay this, I'd happily drop the domain within the hour.
Now it is not a sale, its a push fee to cover the administrative cost with overseeing the push from my account to theirs. Since it was voluntary, I feel safe in preceding. They had the choice to have me just drop the domain if they wanted, but they decided they didn't want me to do that.
It's all in the wording, and a very professionally written letter. But in the end I made a few bucks and solved a problem for both of us. Some may look at this as extortion, others a creative solution. You have to do what works for you, but for me this is a viable technique in some circumstances.
Disclaimers:
1) I don't support buying trademark names.
2) This should not be a way to make money, but instead a way to make lemon-aid from lemons.
Today I received an email from a TM holder claiming I had offered to sell them a TM'd name they own. Since I try to steer very clear of any TM issues, I was surprised. I went back and looked at my TM search results for that name. I usually save a screen shot of every TM search on a domain I end up owning. In this case they were right as I had made a typo in my search. But in the past I have also ended up with TM problems due to buying a portfolio with a TM name in it as part of the lot, so it can happen to anyone.
I immediately apologized for the mistake and offered to immediately drop the name, explaining what had happened. THIS IS IMPORTANT. By doing so I can tone down the relationship so that they can see it was not a purposeful infringement. I explained to them that I wouldn't be able to just transfer the name to them due to the 60 day lock.
Then I went on to explain a bit about the transfer process and the value of the particular domain. I explained what would happen when I dropped it. I explained why they may want to grab it for a defensive role if not an active use. I pointed out that they may be successful in grabbing it again, but it was unlikely due to all of the competition, especially for this high value domain. But I left them with a belief that they had a chance on their own. And I pointed out that they likely will be right back in this situation again if they weren't successful.. So by now I have established that it was an accident and that while I wanted to help, I really couldn't.
Then I explain about a push and the associated "push fee". In this case I used $500, but you can adjust according to the tone of the letter and who it is. I have gotten one higher and one lower in the past. Since I had already created the desire for them to own it, they saw this as a good route. I made sure to say it was completely voluntary and that if they didn't want to pay this, I'd happily drop the domain within the hour.
Now it is not a sale, its a push fee to cover the administrative cost with overseeing the push from my account to theirs. Since it was voluntary, I feel safe in preceding. They had the choice to have me just drop the domain if they wanted, but they decided they didn't want me to do that.
It's all in the wording, and a very professionally written letter. But in the end I made a few bucks and solved a problem for both of us. Some may look at this as extortion, others a creative solution. You have to do what works for you, but for me this is a viable technique in some circumstances.
