What can happen if reg tm related?

[SimpleDomaining]

I know it is a silly question but, it is better to know: what is a worst scenario can happen if i will register domain which possible can have tm problem?
I mean will i have to pay all court fees? Or what esle?

 

[user-7256]

Depends where you live.... in England, I believe that the loser has to pay the opponent's lawyer fees.

At WORST? Lose your house, home, family, car, get sentenced to life in prison through surpreme stubbornness and complete stupidity ONLY. Likely, just pay a large fee.

 

[diddie]

Depends of the TM owner, some dont care, some others like ebay will put on you a lawyers army

 

[Amano]

i agree with both of the above. if i was you, i wouldn't chance it, make sure you get a totally unique name

 

[daze]

i'm not a lawyer, but from my experience...

to start, you'll most likely receive a Cease & Desist letter if the owner cares enough / has the resources. at that point, the smart move would be to comply with their wishes -- whether it is to simply stop use of the domain or to give the domain to them. unless it is a generic term, i would say that it'd not be worth progressing the case to court.

in many cases, if the owner doesn't feel that you're harming their business, they won't approach you about the name.

again, this is just from my experience. i've been buying names for almost 10 years without too many problems, but each case is unique.

 

[Kate]

In a nutshell try to avoid a name which may sound confusingly similar to the TM name itself. In other words your chosen name should not harm the TM holder.
It depends on the actual use too.
For example if you operate a forum for Ebay users called Ebayforum you should be OK I guess.
It is also allowed to be critical of a brand, paypalsucks.com is a famous example.
But use your common sense. If you have a business purpose it should not look like unfair competition.

 

[wasistdas]

You have to receive Yes or No in written and signed form from the TM holder BEFORE registering.

 

[DNQuest.com]

The worse case senaio is losing the domain and fine $100,000.00 and labeled a squatter. This is very rare, bit still a possibility.

Normally, the TM would just want the name, the more stubborn you are, the more stubborn they will be.

 

[scrsteven]

Basically the same thread , look here for more info: http://namepros.com/showthread.php?t=127316

 

[rivux]

Why does NamePros even allow these threads? Its no different then someone posting "If I kill my neighbour whats the worst that could happen?". Maybe its because NamePros promotes illegal activities, not sure but it seems odd.

 

[daze]

Why does NamePros even allow these threads? Its no different then someone posting "If I kill my neighbour whats the worst that could happen?". Maybe its because NamePros promotes illegal activities, not sure but it seems odd.

trademark violation = killing a neighbor? what? someone asking a question, regardless of your feelings about the issue, means that namepros promotes illegal activities?

wow, way to add 2 and 2 together to make 5, man.

 

[Dave_Z]

rivux, you did think long and hard before posting that here, did you?

-RJ- and the others have worked their butts off to build this forum to where
it is now. They know what's right and wrong.

Besides, there are always other forums if this one doesn't suit you.

 

[DNQuest.com]

many of the users here do not advocate illegal activities. Many of us try to curb it. But this IS a domain name forum and it is relevant question.

 

[rivux]

Yes this is a domain forum but allowing posts that are essentially "im about to break the law, how much trouble could I get in" is a whole lot different then someone asking whether a domain they have is breaking the law. I think that allowing people to get advice on either a)how to get away with TM violations or b)suggesting that people should keep TM violated domains because they wont get in much trouble is doing a disservice to the domain community as a whole. -RJ- is trying to promote ethical domain practices with DNOA, which is why I find it odd that threads about flagrant TM infringement are allowed on the forum.

 

[jberryhill]

I find it odd that threads about flagrant TM infringement are allowed on the forum.

First of all, people are certainly allowed to discuss any legal issue they want to discuss. My goodness, I hope you don't actually READ laws, since they talk about all sorts of activities and what might happen.

Second, cybersquatting is not a criminal matter, so your comments about murder are far-fetched. That said, do you KNOW what the penalty for murder is in your state? Some states have capital punishment, and some don't. So if someone asks, "What is the worst that could happen to me in Maryland for killing someone?" is that some sort of "offensive question"? Please, whatever you do, don't go near a law school.

The worse case senaio is losing the domain and fine $100,000.00 and labeled a squatter. This is very rare, bit still a possibility.

It can be a lot more than $100K, as it may also include the other sides attorney's fees - conveniently jacked up.

And if you say, "Hey, I don't have 100K, so it's not a problem" consider that you will never qualify for a loan or credit of any kind, and that just about anything you do have can be taken away from you (along with anything you acquire).

 

[rivux]

This has nothing to do about talking about a criminal activity in the general sense such as the example you gave jberryhill but I guess you decided to just pick out a few words from my post and not read the whole thing.

If there were more people on NamePros who held trademark rights and less that decided to infringe on them then this conversation wouldnt even be taking place. Its the context of the conversation that is the problem, not the conversation itself. By allowing conversations to go on that encourage or at the very least don't discourage people from reg'n names they know have TM issues then NamePros is not helping the domain community or DNOA in any way.

How is giving advice such as "if its google/ebay/microsoft dont do it, but if its anyone else go ahead and reg the domain they wont do anything" helpful to the domain community in anyway? Its not, but thats the kind of advice thats given out on this forum a lot of the times and the kind of advice that when left on the forum I believe hurts NamePros and hurts DNOA. Which is why my comment that I was suprised the staff let those kind of comments/threads stay.

Just a followup, if this converastion were on GeekVillage and someone posted a thread that said "I am using some stolen graphics and humour images, what kind of trouble can I get in". There would be no conversation about the legal ramifications of his act, he would be told that what he did is wrong, and the thread would be locked. Because it does not benefit other members on that forum who are holders of those rights to encourage a the poster in any ways. This isn't about whats legal, or what NamePros can do, its there forum do what they want, but I don't think it helps them or others in the domain industry to have these types of conversations.

 

[mixon]

It's still much better if they ask...

It's still much better that someone is asking what can happen... it's like asking the lawyer... if it's before the actual action, we all have a chance to explain the rules to that person... if he/she will see $100000 or more sentence possibility it will give something to think, am I right?

Since I can see similar questions for a long time (on different forums also) I am now developing the website about all these legal issues related to especially domain names etc. And I would be glad to have all the questions and answers.. not only the proper questions... as some answers are not so clear as black and white...