what to do with a dropped trademark .ca

**westcoaster** · 11-22-2009, 01:08 AM

Recently in a TBR there was a multi million dollar company who dropped their .ca For whatever reason I have no idea. The company name IS trademarked and they still have the .com.

My question is can I pick up the dropped name and put up a website with affiliate advertising that leads to their .com? They do have an affilaite program.

My thoughts are they have had this .ca in the past and now they drop it. They must not want it so does that mean it's alright to use it?

Should I grab it and send them an email saying WTF are you guys doing?
Should I try to sell it to them?

My reading on Tm's on this site tend to say leave the .ca alone as it TM'd and the fact that is a .ca does not mean anyone registering the .ca has the freedom to do whatever they want with it.

Any thoughts on this.

Cheers

**snicksnack** · 11-22-2009, 01:46 AM

Sure you can garb it, but I am pretty sure shortly afterwards they will come after you. Especially when you want to use their affiliate program to make money out of their TM.

**stewie** · 11-22-2009, 06:49 AM

I never touch em...not worth the trouble... why do you think someone dropped it. If they had it and some starts using it Im sure they will just take it back.

JMO

**Andrew Shaw** · 11-22-2009, 06:59 AM

If you do happen to register it, don't point to their site... in fact, have complete different content then what is related to their business.

I would grab it personally. But that's just me... I don't have much to lose

**whitebark** · 11-22-2009, 09:04 AM

Is this a domain that dropped through the tbr and was not claimed? If so that should tell you two things - it's worthless or it's not worth the trouble it could bring!

**Banned: Wzhxvy** · 11-22-2009, 09:21 AM

Great topic. This has happened a few times in the past few months, and you are right, these are huge companies dropping (intentionally or not) their domain names. I would be selective on picking them up ie are they 3 letters ? do you think they get traffic ? are they generic ?

Depending on the above, ie if its a generic or a 3 letter, I would definetly pick up but not park....unless short term revenue is worth it for you and you give it up like a good boy when they come after you. If you dont park, and if they come after you, you can decide to fight or not. I dont let anything go without a fight personally.

I think this is a gold mine especially if its a 3 letter or a generic, because companies have turnover, and the guy who dropped it today, or doesnt want to pay for it today, will be replaced with a guy in a couple of years who might see the value.

Thats my 2 cents.

**westcoaster** · 11-22-2009, 02:59 PM

thanks for your input. I'm not into looking for a fight. I'll just let it go. As whitebark says it probably wasn't that good anyways. I'm checking out this week's TBR and i see another company dropping thier .ca. The company is peak potentials. They are a money seminar company out of Vancouver. They do millions of business every year and yet they let their .ca fall by the wayside. If it makes it through TBR I'll pick it up and call them and let them know that .ca's are dang important and give it back to them at no charge.

I believe it is important that canadian businesses have a .ca. By doing this, we as domainers have a greater chance of selling our .ca's with the recognition and value they deserve.

**Banned: Wzhxvy** · 11-22-2009, 03:22 PM

Dont want to get into details on a public forum, but remember that the domain name represents more than a website, its also an email address. It can be a significant security gap for a company not to own the .ca

**whitebark** · 11-22-2009, 08:00 PM

There are many companies letting their .ca expire - or they themselves are expiring due to the recession! I grab one or two a week and most come with decent traffic but not all convert to clicks. Some I forward to existing websites of mine if similar in nature and they are truly out of business. Don't want nor need the hassle.

There are a few .ca'ers who dabble on the dark side each week and I'm surprised sometimes at the ones they grab and seem to keep a hold of with parked pages...

**James Jean** · 11-22-2009, 08:20 PM

bluntly put... just register the name. The fact that they let it drop holds a lot of weight if it were ever to go into litigation, wipo, or udrp etc etc. The benefits seems to outway the risk. Though only you would know without revealing the name.