WIPO Complaint - "Polite" Threat

[Dimitris]

I am pasting exactly the polite threat I received without the names.
I am almost 100% sure that he will be added to the Hall of Shame (www.hallofshame.com).
What do you suggest to do?

Thank you,
dpan


Dear Sirs,

I am contacting you regarding the domain XXXX.com that is registred under your Administrative and Registrant name since May 26 2014.

We have founded a company XXXXX B.V. with a registred trademark name in France since Sept. 19 2014. We have contacted you twice since then to offer you a legitimate transfer of XXXX.com that you have refused.

We would like you to reconsider our offer that is now for $10 to formaly transfer the domain XXXX to our property. This is a final offer before we fill in a formal complaint at the WIPO for domain name registration abuse under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy, adopted by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) on August 26, 1999.

For your information, your selling policy is against paragraph 4, section b.(i) and will result in both a direct transfer to our property and the paiment of additional fees resulting from the procedure itself, that will be charged to you.

This offer is valid for a period of 7 (seven) days starting on Mon. 21 2014.

Looking forward reading you,

Name, on behalf of XXXXX B.V.
l

 

[Dimitris]

and to add, this is the first e-mail that I have received. I never refused any of his "offers".

 

[Keith]

Just ignore it.

 

[Dimitris]

Just ignore it.

Probably I should have done what you have just suggested. Some folks need some brief education, so this is what I replied to him:


Dear NAME,

Do not underestimate my intelligence. I am not a kid. I have legal representation both in the US and the EU.

Your company and trademark was registered in France many months after I added this name to my portfolio (which passed all trademark checks by third-party lawyers - as with all my names).

To launch a complaint via WIPO, you had to register this legal name under the Madrid Protocol (WIPO) before I purchased the name; and the minimum fee for a complaint is 1.500$ for 1 panelist. Moreover, the name is registered in the US and it is a .com. With your trademark type you will be able to purchase XXXXX.fr, which seems that it is for sale.

Are you aware of Hall of Shame? (www.hallofshame.com).
What you are going to do is considered a reverse domain name hi-jacking attempt.

You also say that you contacted me twice and that I have refused you offer. This is a lie. I never read and/or replied to any of your e-mails, nor I've received any of your offers.

I will be more than happy to join you in the European Court of Law if you continue to "politely" threat me - and you can be 100% sure that you will lose the case and your money. So, why don't you just purchase the name if you really want it and stop selling me "bullshit" to try to "scare" me and hi-jack the name from me?

I reserve all my legal rights.

Regards,
dpan

 

[Kate]

Don't spend too much time and energy educating them. If anything, you are giving them ammo.
You should be safe as long as:

• you have a legitimate purpose for the domain
• you did not register it with possible knowledge of a corporation/TM in formation
• you don't use to compete with them (careful if your domain is parked and showing sponsored links
  
• etc

Is this a Dutch company ? I see BV.
Keep in mind that TM rights may accrue before formal registration, even without registration.

 

[Dave_Z]

Just ignore it.

Yet keep their communications and be ready to respond, if ever. One just never knows.

 

[googli]

If I were you, I would just reply "LICK my A$$"

 

[onebrand.co]

Hello there, so how's the case so far?

 

[Dimitris]

Hello there, so how's the case so far?

Nothing happened, as soon as they started their Kickstarter campaign I received a unidentified phone call from France. I didn't pick up. Maybe they wanted to offer something or threat me more. Their campaign was successfully funded and I can see a sale coming soon. With registered trademarks only in France and Mexico, there is nothing they can do.

Wish me luck

 

[Andrew Chen]

Was the domain parked? I just wonder what happen if you park the domain after they register trademark.

 

[Dave_Z]

Was the domain parked? I just wonder what happen if you park the domain after they register trademark.

If the domain's parking page shows ads of products/services competing with the trademark, then the TM holder can argue confusion or infringement. An idea there is the domain holder became aware of the TM and then sought to exploit it via parking ads.

 

[The New Guy]

I would have tried to be less antagonistic in the letter while still pointing out that they're in the wrong.

Also let them know that if you opt for a 3 member panel (your best bet to avoid getting a horrible judge) then the fee is tripled to $1500, of which they'll have to pay half.

And they'll have to pay their lawyers.

And if you lose, you can still file suit in court to keep your domain, which will be heard in US, not French, courts.

But offering $10? I'd tell them that you'll submit that in your UDRP defense as a sign of bad faith bargaining. They're basically threatening "take our ten dollars for your domain or we'll sue!".

 

[ulterios]

Well I for one don't know HOW you turned down such a sweet offer of $10 ! LOL

You would think that they would have at least made a decent offer.