Trademarking a generic type word

[vrcanada]

hello .. i am owner of a domain bourse-des-vol .com , meaning .. in french: flight exchange .. or flight market. a 'bourse des velos' .. would be a bicycle exchange/market, etc.

the owner of bourse-des-vols .com claims he has a TM on this name, and mine is a mutation therefore of their name .. and not a generic.

apparently they went to court against google in france, and won re: adwords showing up for the term 'bourse des vols'. see:
http://www.weboptimiser.com/search_engine_marketing_news/1249249.html

now they say they want my name, and will get it nicely .. or with a slew of lawyers.

i am interested in hearing your 2 cents.

regards,
vrc

 

[Dave_Z]

Generally speaking, any word can be used as a trademark. Whether a term will
be considered one depends on the relevant trademark laws and authorities (if
any) of the relevant jurisdiction.

If you and the other party happen to be in the same jurisdiction, and are quite
known to be aggressive, then it's up to you to weigh your risks and rewards,
whichever is higher.