domain worldcup2018hotels.co.uk

[CuckooFarmer]

Good Evening,

Myself & two friends recently bought the above for £7 for two years.

I had the idea that if the football / soccer World Cup came to England in 2018 then this site could prove quite popular for fans wishing to attend the tournament.

The final decision is made in December as to who will host the 2018 world cup. England are currently the favourites.

I would the either try to sell it or keep it untill 2018 with a view to advertise hotels.

Not really sure of how these things work but would appreciate any feedback.

At the end of the day its only cost us about £2.50 each, so not the end of the world if it has little value.

Thanks again.

Dan.

 

[Skinny]

Hey there Dan,

The phrase World Cup is a trademark. So your domain is infringing on FIFA's trademark.

Therefore it will be very difficult for you to sell this name to another domainer because they know that Trademarks are very risky.

FIFA could ask you to turn the domain over to them or could even sue if they really wanted to.

Do you really want to take that chance?

Grace delete the domain if you can and read the Newbie section here at Namepros. It has really good info on how to choose domain names that won't cause you any trouble and that you can actually sell.

Skinny

 

[Sparhawke]

I agree, there are far better names out there without having to wait 8 years even if their bid was successful and it was confirmed it is being played in England.

Too long to wait for any kind of return hence get a grace delete (without even mentioning a TM issue)

 

[CuckooFarmer]

Thanks for the feedback Skinny.

Like i said only £7 spent so not the end of the world.

I will check out the newbie section as you advised.

I did however, note that Hotels World Cup 2010 | Flights, hotels and tickets for 2010 south Africa world cup is a fully operational site with severals adverts on it.

 

[Skinny]

Dan yes you are right.

Many sites do use trademarked domains like the one you've mentioned but they have basically proven that they are profiting (from ads) from a trademark (world cup).

Therefore they are in even larger danger because they are basically making money off of that trademark and FIFA could take this more seriously.

The risk isn't the money you've spent. The risk is holding that domain name which points to you as the buyer can result in a lawsuit and/or a forcible transfer of the domain.

Tread very very carefully.

Skinny

 

[CuckooFarmer]

An update on this one concerning the copyright issue.

I called 123 reg today to cancel the domain, I was told I could not get a refund, I was not to worried as to be honest after your feedback, I just wanted to get this domain deleted ASAP before I could be sued.

I informed them why I wished to delete it, they said they would look into the copyright issue & I got the following response ;

Dear Dan,

Thank you for contacting 123-reg on the 21st June 2010.

There are no copyright issues over the domain name worldcup2018hotels.co.uk as it does not mention anywhere for which world cup it is, it could be world cup darts or snooker for example. It will only become a copyright issue when you imagery associated with the world cup that you do not have the authority to use.

We have not deleted this domain at the present time as there is no need for us to and you are legally allowed to use this domain


If we can be of any further help with regard to this or any other matter, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Kind Regards

Andrew
Support Agent
123-reg

This had put me in two minds now ! Sorry to go on about this issue.

 

[Sparhawke]

I would ask in the legal discussion forum on that, as some there will know far better than me but I think if you did use the name for the world cup of football the intent would be clear.

I would force them to delete it, sounds like this "Andrew" is an idiot.

By the way, if you do decide to go ahead then this letter from 123-reg will not cover your ass if they wish to try to make a point of you, it is not a legal document I don't think.

I particularly like this statement:

We have not deleted this domain at the present time as there is no need for us to

What happens in 2018, will they then grace delete it and refund all your money?

 

[Skinny]

LOL. While I'm no lawyer I have studied law in high school and this Andrew guy is totally off.

What would he care, he makes money for his company.

Post this in the legal forum as mentioned and see what happens. I'm 99.99% sure I'm right though - this is a TM violation.

Skinny