domain VisaCards.co.uk Appraisal please

[Numeric Domains]

www.visacards.co.uk appraisal please? Now in live auction at www.sedo.com

 

[Kate]

Big TM issue.

 

[Numeric Domains]

WHY? With the new biometric visa cards being introduced and the definition of visa being "A passport stamp or document that authorizes the passport-holder to enter a country for specific purposes for a particular time period" what is the TM issue???

 

[comicbookguy]

Visa is a generic term BUT when you put it with Card it is a huge TM issue. Nothing more obvious than that. You can get sued and if you sell it and the new owner gets sued he can turn around and sue you for damages. be carefull. You could argue what youa re saying but it would never be worth it financially for a under $100 domain name. And you have links to credit cards on your site which would be a NO NO if your saying it has nothing to do with VISA credit Cards.That would be called bad faith i believe. I lawyer would have a field day with that. Competitors cards etc.

 

[Numeric Domains]

Hi. Thank you for your opinion. I have checked the following visa card extensions and not one of them is owned by a visacard company and they are all offering credit cards

www,visacards.com
www,visacards.net
www.visacards.org
www.visacards.biz
www.visacards.info

Cannot see what the big issue is here. Whoever buys www.visacards.co.uk can use it for many things either financial related or visa related. As for a $100 domain name????? I think that might be wishful thinking. Kind regards

 

[comicbookguy]

sorry that sounded disrespecfull .I meant under 100 as if it were a TM issue it would be worth that. No one would buy it. I have no clue what this is value wise of there is no TM issues. Maybe Visa does not go after people who use the name Visa in refernce to credit cards. if that's the case then you have no issues. I was just making sure you understood the ramifications. this name must get good traffic.read the legal sections. lots of post of people getting Emails or letters from attorneys for using the nameof a famous product .

 

[Numeric Domains]

Hi again. Thanks for your reply. I have checked google for a trademark for visacard and also visacards and cannot find anything. If anyone knows any different then please supply the trademark info. Looks like a winner. Kind regards

 

[jacal1]

LInda, good luck but I beg to differ. If I reg microsoftcomputers I have a TM problem, even if microsoft did not specifically TM that pair of words. Any single word in a domain can lead to TM problems.

That said, IF you don't have TM problems, its a GREAT name.

 

[scooby47]

The trademarks, logos, and service marks (collectively the "Trademarks") displayed on the Visa site are registered and unregistered Trademarks of Visa and others. VISA®, the Three Bands Design Mark®, 3-D SECURE®, CLASSIC®, the Comet Design Mark®, the Dove Design Mark®, ELECTRON®, INTERLINK®, the Network Design Mark®, PLUS®, the PLUS Design Mark®, TRAVELMONEY®, VERIFIED BY VISA®, VISA BUXX®, VISA PLATINUM®, VISA SIGNATURE®, VISANET® and It's Everywhere You Want To Be® are registered Trademarks of Visa in the United States and other countries (trademark denotations on the Visa site indicate federal registrations in the United States). Nothing contained on the Visa site should be construed as granting by implication, estoppel, or otherwise, any license or right to use any Trademark displayed on the Visa site without the written permission of Visa or such third party that may own the Trademark. Misuse of any Trademarks, or any other content, displayed on the Visa site is prohibited. Visa aggressively enforces its intellectual property rights, including via civil and criminal proceedings.


In summary my view is that this is a very risky domain. They are Visa and they supply cards. Its a clear cut at that , how it could be construed as any thing other than that eludes me.

Sorry if that appears blunt. But I think you would have no chance whatsoever of defending this domain and retaining it if it was challenged.
Especially when it is parked with credit cards ads on it , visa on it and card pictures.

http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/9683/visacardsbt1.jpg

Scooby

 

[kkworld]

I dont see an TM issue. Both VISA and CARDS are very generic terms. There are number of companies out there which would like to buy for this domain. I can see PrePaid Visa cards companies in Uk would like to have this domains and many banks as well.

All the best.

 

[jacal1]

From their homepage. I don;t think they'd reference "brand" so strongly if they didn;t think it was their mark:

An organization's brand is very often its most valuable asset. As businesses grow to address new opportunities, strong brands find ways to extend their relevance beyond their initial product associations. For example, Apple is as credible and appealing when it comes to MP3 music players as it is to computers. For a global brand such as Visa, this is an essential and challenging task, especially when the brand is shared with more than 20,000 member financial institutions.

 

[eazyjimmy23]

I gotta agree with sdsinc, but I do wish you luck

 

[Numeric Domains]

Thanks to everyone for their comments. Would it be better for me advertise biometric visa cards (the up and coming replacement to paper visas) on the site that way it does not show any reference to credit cards?? Also, whoever buys the domain www.visacards.co.uk can they use it just for pointing traffic to their own site?? All comments are appreciated. Kind regards

 

[akcampbell]

Here's a link to the UK trademark.

http://www.ipo.gov.uk/tm/t-find/t-find-number?detailsrequested=C&trademark=E405480

Bottom of Class 9 and top of Class 36 are the relevant bits. In terms of valuation, I think how much the domain is worth depends on how much PPC you can make before Visa come after you.

Different companies have different approaches to chasing IP. Visa might not be bothered reeling in the domain because it's better for people to be clicking on Visa credit card adverts than mastercard. Any reference to biometric visa cards is unlikely to save your domain if Visa decided it would be a useful forwarding link to their Visa.com website.

If I had a possible TM issue domain I would quietly rake in as much PPC as I could get, and add the domain to Sedo for offers so the trademark owner might consider buying it to save the legal hassle. Selling proactively on forums is risky because it leaves a trail of breadcrumbs to your door.

Doing a search for Visa domain namepros on Google it looks like Visa.pro sold for $1,500 so you might get lucky.

 

[Numeric Domains]

Hi. Thanks for your comments. I have had the domain for 6 years now and the potential of raking in ppc is excellent. I have listed the domain in the sedo live auction so lets hope it makes its full potential. Kind regards

 

[scooby47]

I think that if it had developed content re biometrics that could potentially help to allay any contentious situation. But that aside if they were to assert their registered TM and aquired by use / brand perception TM's it would not be an easy defence.

They have not been after it so far, so who knows maybe they are not as zealous as there statement indicates when it comes to protecting their IPR.

 

[Numeric Domains]

Hi again scooby47. Yes i agree. Biometric visacards would solve the TM issue if it was ever raised which i doubt very much. I have looked at others including visacards.de and visacards.name including the tlds and they all up and running ok.

www.visacards.co.uk will be available in the live www.sedo.com auction from later today. Any ideas of its true value please? Kind regards

 

[Kate]

I dont see an TM issue. Both VISA and CARDS are very generic terms. There are number of companies out there which would like to buy for this domain. I can see PrePaid Visa cards companies in Uk would like to have this domains and many banks as well.

All the best.

For example if you have a domain like usvisa.com and offer immigration services then it would be OK...
Both VISA and CARDS are generic => OK
However Visa and cards when combined result in a name that is confusingly similar to a well-known brand so yes you have a TM issue.
Concerning visacards.com it looks like a blatant TM infringement to me. Maybe the owner can get away with it but Visa could sue anytime. Don't follow the mistakes of other people. Just because somebody is doing it doesn't mean it's right.

If you get UDRPed on that name and come up with an excuse like biometric ID (visa) etc it's more than likely the panelist will not buy it and conclude on bad faith on the side of registrant (you).
To be honest I don't think the name would suit well for anything else than visa cards. I don't see your purpose: are you going to sell biometric visas ? I guess not as it's a government/consular prerogative.

You can still try your luck and ask for permission from Visa to use the name if you qualify as a financial institution or affiliate for example. This could be a double-edged sword, if you draw attention to that name they might not like it so I wouldn't do it.

 

[Damion]

Very well said Kate, two generic words combined can have the potential to be a TM infringement when usage of the domain would mean you're diverting traffic or profiting from the domain.

I dont see an TM issue. Both VISA and CARDS are very generic terms

Yes, but...

Example:

Shell = a generic term and on it's own and with the right usage you wouldn't have a problem

Products = a generic term and wouldn't be a problem.

Combine these two... ShellProducts.com and park it - and between the advertisement results of shell food you have petroleum products for instance then your domain will be :ghost: PPC Roadkill :ghost: as our fellow NP member John Berryhill eloquently puts it

1: The domain contains a Mark
2: The use is infringing, hence illegitimate
3: It diverts the customers

So be very careful with your generic domains because even when you think you have a strong generic domain wrong usage can send your domain to PPC Roadkill heaven :ghost:

 

[Numeric Domains]

Hi sdsnic, Thanks for your comments. I suppose if the name is sold cheap enough in the current live www.sedo.com auction then either a financial institution will snap it up and cover the cost of the domain within a short time and take the chance. To be perfectly honest, if visa are not interested in a tm issue with the .com version than realistcly why would they bother with the .co.uk ? Kind regards