I own the name of a presidential election candidate .. what do I do

**Mykeul** · 10-30-2011, 08:43 AM

Hello here,

I live in France, and there is a new candidate for the presidential election in 2012 (France too).
I have his exact name .com, I do not do anything with it, even if I bought it with the plan to develop a website with NOTHING related to the candidate.

Should I try to sell it to his political party ?

Thanks for your help

Mykeul

**katherine** · 10-30-2011, 09:14 AM

Originally Posted by Mykeul

Should I try to sell it to his political party ?

I doubt they would welcome such a move.

And why would you buy a very distinctive name to develop it in a totally unrelated way ? That doesn't make sense. In one way or the other, you are profiting off the fame of the candidate. It's a form of TM infringement.
Since you are in France, they can easily sue you, and the French courts are not sympathetic to cybersquatters.
What you have in your hands is not an asset, it is a liability. A hot potato.

**Mykeul** · 10-30-2011, 11:30 AM

Hello,

Thanks for answering.
I did not intend to use it to resell it when I bought it. In fact, it is a brand new candidate, totally unknown before now, former industry worker, promoted due to main candidate resignation.
His name also mean a slang word (soft) in French, I wanted to develop it as a little instant messaging service.
In this way, I dont feel like I am a cybersquatter, it is more a kind of coincidence ...
It is a little political party, maybe 7th or 8th out of 10/

Mykeul

**katherine** · 10-30-2011, 12:21 PM

If it's an actual word, then it depends how it is used. If you attempt to sell the name to the political party they could still claim bad faith though.