Email Recieved?

[MrDude]

Today I got an email from yahoo for: yahooahtos.com

Sbject Reads: Yahoo! Inc. v. yahooahtos.com, et al. / Civil Action No. CV 1441 JCC/TRJ

The email read:

To Whom It May Concern:

Attached please find a copy of the in rem Complaint, including Exhibit A, filed December 12, 2005, on behalf of Yahoo! in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The Complaint alleges, among other claims, violations of the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act of 1999, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(d), arising from your registration of the domain name for which you are identified in Exhibit A as the registrant (the "Domain Name").



Notwithstanding the pending action, Yahoo! is willing to resolve the matter informally and release all claims against you arising from your prior use and registration of the Domain Name, including dismissing the pending law suit with prejudice, upon transfer of the Domain Name to Yahoo!. In order to do so, you must complete and sign the provided Agreement and Consent Judgment and return the originals of these two documents to us as soon as possible for filing as necessary with the Court.


As soon as practical, and following your request and our receipt of the original documents signed by you, we will provide you with a file-stamped copy of the Consent Judgment as approved by the Court and a copy of the fully executed Agreement. You may contact me with any questions.



We look forward to your response.



Sincerely,



Daniel Dougherty

Legal Director

Yahoo! Inc.

701 First Avenue

Sunnyvale, CA 94089

Tel: 408.349.3300

Fax: 408.349.6208

The only thing Im confused about now is that I dont own the domain and never have....The attatched files look legit, PDF attatched too and signed.

Update:
There is a XLS sheet attatched with a domain I own as one of thousands of others listed. I am willing to let any forum member take a look at the XLS upon request.

Good or bad advice to delete the domain in question now?

[marley]

Tell them you don't own it and ask them if it's okay to delete it.

[MrDude]

Tell them you don't own it and ask them if it's okay to delete it.

If I dont own it, how can I delete it? hmmm

[marley]

If I dont own it, how can I delete it? hmmm

Why do you ask if it's good or bad to delete the domain name if you can't delete it?

Anyway, how come it's regged under your name then?

[MrDude]

You told me to deny owning it but then ask if its okay to delete it
The domain I own which I have not disclosed in this thread nor to anyone else is the only domain related in any way to me.

[Anthony Ng]

I would strongly recommend seeking advice from YOUR lawyer, esp. when they are seemingly serious with (pending?) court action. Make sure you DON'T act or contact them without some good legal advice; for instance, they only agree to "dismissing the pending law suit with prejudice".

[MrDude]

I dont have a lawyer nor could afford to consult with one. I am a 16 year old student.

[TheLegendaryJP]

I am confused.

You dont own the domain they mentioned BUT you do own another yahoo domain ?

[Josh]

Since your 16, and you don't own it, I'd pick up the phone and call the Yahoo lawyer and explain to him just that. Might get you further than you think. And I'd be sure to mention the part about you being 16.

Josh

[MrDude]

I seem to have confused you all.
The domain which was mentioned in the subject is not the domain I own, I later come to realise that there was an attatched XLS file of allmost 2,000 domains that they seem to have similarly contacted about, I am one of the ones listed in the file.

Any help/advice is greatly appreciated.

[diverge]

Did you receive a letter too, or just this email? Seems fishy, since most C&D requests are sent by certified mail. I almost suspect someone is trying to harvest good typosquat domains under false pretense by getting you to transfer the domain(s) to them.

Is the domain that you own a clear Yahoo! TM violation / case of cybersquatting? If you like, PM me the domain you DO own and I will be glad to comment more accurately on this issue.

(I am not a lawyer)

[MrDude]

PM Sent

Also, part of the email.

Notwithstanding the pending action, Yahoo! is willing to resolve the matter informally and release all claims against you arising from your prior use and registration of the Domain Name, including dismissing the pending law suit with prejudice, upon transfer of the Domain Name to Yahoo!. In order to do so, you must complete and sign the provided Agreement and Consent Judgment and return the originals of these two documents to us as soon as possible for filing as necessary with the Court.

Would it be a bad idea to post the documents I should fill in here? Could somebody take a quick look over them and see if anything obvious could happen from signing them.

Part of one:

5. Each party hereto warrants and represents that the person executing this Agreement on its behalf is of legal age and has full authority with respect to the subject matter herein and to execute this Agreement and to bind it as a party to this Agreement. This Agreement shall be binding in all respects upon the parties hereto, their subsidiaries, related companies, officers, directors, successors, assigns, employees, and agents, and all parties in privity with or claiming under them.

Would I, a 16 year old, be of a legal age under US laws to sign an agreement? I am unsure but think the answer is no. If I am not of a legal age would it be best to contact Daniel at yahoo who sent out these?

Paul

[diverge]

Paul,

I read the attachments you sent me. You may not have noticed, but the suit is filed against YOU. The complaint.pdf specifically says "Yahoo! Inc, Plaintiff v. yahooahtos.com and 1865 other domain names listed in Exhibit A, Defendants" And if your domain is listed in the spreadsheet Exhibit A, then you are one of the defendants.

My advice:

GET OUT RIGHT NOW. Transfer the domain to them (don't even pi$$ them off by dropping it -- follow their instructions to transfer it to them). Do this before you do ANYTHING else. It's NOT worth fighting, and you WILL lose. Trust me.

[MrDude]

I do not have yahooahtos.com

The domain I have is Y A H O O S P A M F R E E . C O M

I am listed in the spreadsheet, How do I get out? I must be of a legal age!

I am planning on calling them tommorow? What else can I do? Lie on the documents? Im really not sure...

I have no plans on fighting, I do not care about the loss of the domain name, I am more than happy to transferr it and would even pay costs of transferr.

What should I do from now? Call them as planned? As I am only 16 therefore cannot legally enter a contract.

Advice please :(

I do not have yahooahtos.com

The domain I have is Y A H O O S P A M F R E E . C O M

The suit is filed against me?

I am listed in the spreadsheet, How do I get out? I must be of a legal age!

I am planning on calling them tommorow? What else can I do? Lie on the documents? Im really not sure...

I have no plans on fighting, I do not care about the loss of the domain name, I am more than happy to transferr it and would even pay costs of transferr.

What should I do from now? Call them as planned? As I am only 16 therefore cannot legally enter a contract.

Advice please :(

[GeorgeK]

Mr. Dude: You're one of the "et al", i.e. a co-defendant in the lawsuit with all the others. You should get a lawyer (a cheap one, as it appears they simply want the domain, with a simple release), and also discuss things with your parents, because you might not be of age to sign the Yahoo settlement documents -- your parental guardians might have to sign.

You would want a lawyer to review any settlement, to ensure that it has a proper release (e.g. a settlement "with prejudice" might not be desirable, depending on the exact words).

It's nice to see Yahoo cracking down, by filing in real court instead of UDRP. Typosquatters should see this as a wakeup call.

[MrDude]

I'm going to call Yahoo later on today

[Anthony Ng]

I'm going to call Yahoo later on today

It's SUNDAY here!

[MrDude]

I am going to call Yahoo tommorow then...oops

[tas38]

Is a 16 year old allowed to buy domains, or is that not allowed because if he can buy them. Then he should be able to, sign it over to yahoo right ?

[Dave Zan]

Is a 16 year old allowed to buy domains

For complex matters, that's where adults come in. :-D

To think someone asked in a separate thread if a former owner can
be held liable. Well, here's one answer.