Dang it, Ive been sent TM letter.

[Darkfire001]

Well it seems that the Lawyers representing Sega have some knocking at my doorstep. They sent me a pretty well written letter explaining that I would hand them the domain and resistance was futile. Domain is http://www.segagames.com which I bought from Tippy. What pisses me off is other .TLD's are okay and I think whole reason they are waiting is just so they can pick up a domain cheap. My first reaction was to reply that I am perfectly willing to return the domain to them given they reimburse me the $75.00 I paid Tippy for the Domain.

____________________________________________________
November 1, 2002
VIA FEDERAL EXPRESS AND ELECTRONIC MAIL
Mr. ****
*******************
****
****
*****************
Re: Improper Registration of the "segagames.com" Domain Name
Dear Mr. ****:
This firm represents Kabushiki Kaisha Sega, dba Sega Corporation and its affiliated entities (collectively referred to as “Sega” in this letter) with respect to various matters. We are unaware whether you have counsel and, therefore, write this letter directly to you. If you are represented by counsel, please provide me with that person’s name and contact information, so that I may direct future communications, if necessary, to that person.

As you undoubtedly are aware, Sega owns longstanding and exclusive rights to its famous and distinctive SEGA® marks and names in countries throughout the world. Indeed, Sega owns trademark registrations and pending trademark applications in the United States and other countries for various trademarks that are comprised of or include the term SEGA, such as the marks SEGA®, SEGA® (and Design), SEGA.COM™ and SEGANET™ for a wide variety of products and services, including computer game hardware, software and peripherals, video game programs, machines and peripherals, and online gaming and entertainment services. Sega also owns and uses several Internet domain names that are comprised of or include its famous and distinctive SEGA® marks and names to promote its products and services, including the “sega.com” domain name.

Sega’s well-established rights to its SEGA® marks and names date back to at least as early as 1976. During this 26 year period of continuous use, Sega has sold and promoted extensively its products and services throughout the world under its SEGA® marks, names and domain names, and it is recognized worldwide as one of the leaders in the video game and entertainment industries. As a result, Sega’s famous and distinctive SEGA® marks and names are entitled to protection under, among other laws, the Federal Trademark Act (section 43(a) of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a)), the Federal Anti-Dilution Act (section 43(c) of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(c)(1)), and the Trademark Cyberpiracy Prevention Act (section 43(d) of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(d)(1)).

Notwithstanding Sega’s longstanding and exclusive rights to its SEGA® marks and names, Sega recently learned that you have registered the “segagames.com” domain name. Your registration of this domain name, which is comprised of Sega’s famous and distinctive SEGA® mark and name and the generic term “games” (which is readily associated with Sega), violates Sega’s established rights and is of great concern to Sega.

To begin, you should know that your mere registration of the “segagames.com” domain name supports claims under the Lanham Act and ICANN’s Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy, which provide for statutory damages and the transfer of the domain names to Sega. Moreover, any use this confusingly similar domain name will support claims for, among other things, intentional trademark infringement, trademark dilution and unfair competition, which provide for treble damages and attorneys’ fees. In the same regard, any transfer or sale of this domain name to a third party will further exemplify your bad faith and will support claims for contributory infringement and dilution.

Under these circumstances, we must demand, on Sega’s behalf, that you immediately transfer the “segagames.com” domain name to Kabushiki Kaisha Sega, its rightful owner, and agree in writing that you will not use or seek to register in the future any mark, name, designation, or domain name that infringes or otherwise violates Sega’s established rights.

As evidenced by Sega’s numerous trademark registrations, pending applications and domain names throughout the world, Sega views its SEGA® marks and names as valuable assets and treats infringement and violations of its trademark rights very seriously. Sega has successfully prevented other third parties from infringing or violating its intellectual property rights in the past.

In order to avoid any further action on this matter, we look forward to receiving confirmation of your company’s compliance with the terms above no later than November 15, 2002.

Very truly yours,
Leslie C. McKnew
____________________________________________________

 

[RON2]

It is not unreasonable to compose a letter explaining your good faith intentions for the name and proposing to settle the matter for your costs (what you paid for the name or $75).

But don't be suprised if they would rather fight it out with you.

 

[Tippy]

Hi,

let me know what you decide to do. We could work something out for the $. I think we both knew there could be some problems with the name prior to the sale.

Mike

 

[Lew]

They will pay you the $75 - tell them that you paid $75 and that is what you want for the name and if they are not willing to pay that - to sue you.

They will be pissed but they will pay it.

 

[Darkfire001]

Well Tippy I will try to see if they will reimburse me prior to the sale but if not I appreciate of your offer of doing something and perhaps we can work something out. Well time to go draft a response.

 

[GeorgeK]

Asking that they reimburse your direct costs in acquiring the name is reasonable, and if you read the UDRP it does seem to allow you to do that.

 

[uncle]

what are you guys thinking registering names like that?

 

[Darkfire001]

Well I figured it would be an excellent website to setup a Fan site.

 

[Fearless]

I think they should string you up.

j/k

They must have already spent $250 in getting that letter to you.

$100 more won't hurt them.

If it was me, I wouldn't take less than $1k.

 

[Darkfire001]

LOL So confused. I used to think companies would settle for $500 just for ease of suit. Then here and from lawsuits I was seeing companies lose more money pressing suit just for the principal now ive got people (Close freinds, and members of the board) telling me I should string em up. LOL, I actually have a good response letter drafted up.

 

[LawyerSturgeon]

Here is an interesting case that I won - that you can cite to counter them. re primoincense.com at http://www.domain-name-dispute-lawyers.com/PrimoIncense Decision.htm

The complainant had a trademark on the word primo for the product of incense. My client registered primoincense.com. The arbitrator stated that:

"Complainant only holds a trademark in the word "Primo". As such, Complainant has failed to meet the first element required under ICANN Policy 4, which requires Complainant to prove that: "The domain names are identical or confusingly similar to a trademark....."

I used this case citation to make eBay back off from another client re: militarybay.com

I have found it to be a useful case to have in my arsenal

Good Luck

Stephen H. Sturgeon, Esq
DomainEsq.com

 

[Darkfire001]

Steve thank you very much. That is a great resource to me. Because my case if very similar Sega makes games henceforth sega-games. Also, They offered to sell. I have not even offered to sell to sega which is another area that might help me case. Thank you very much.

 

[dkny]

Steve,

Just a question, the PrimoIncense case was in April'01. Don't you think the decision is changed now? Overtime, the dispute has developed the way of panelists' thought and the same response may not help in this case. I saw many response similar to this one lose to the complainants lately.

 

[Luc]

I agree with gregr. It'll cost them several thousand
dollars to drag you through the legal system if
they decided to do so.

I would ask a minimum of $2k for the name.

It's because I'm greedy.

Luc L.

 

[Whois-Search]

Darkfire read this :

http://search.wipo.int/query.html?c...10&lk=1&rf=0&oq=&rq=1&fs=&si=0&ht=100&qt=sega

Then offer it to them for $2000 and stick your ground !

 

[Darkfire001]

Hmm, Would that pass in court? I know they would spend more trying not to pay it but most of those companies are tightfisted.

Here is the Letter I sent to them Yesterday.

____________________________________________________
Hello *********,

Thank you for your time. We are perfectly willing to cooperate with Sega over the domain "SegaGames.com". We had no plans on reselling this to SEGA or any of its competitors nor did we ever offer at anytime too. We had planned to develop this into a fan site in the near future along with many of our other game websites. We feel that SEGA is handling this matter poorly. (SEGA refers to SEGA Corp and or Representation)

"As you undoubtedly are aware, SEGA owns long-standing and exclusive rights to its famous and distinctive SEGA® marks and names in countries throughout the world. Indeed, SEGA owns trademark registrations and pending trademark applications in the United States and other countries for various trademarks that are comprised of or include the term SEGA, such as the marks SEGA®, SEGA® (and Design), SEGA.COM™ and SEGANET™ for a wide variety of products and services, including computer game hardware, software and peripherals, video game programs, machines and peripherals, and online gaming and entertainment services. SEGA also owns and uses several Internet domain names that are comprised of or include its famous and distinctive SEGA® marks and names to promote its products and services, including the “sega.com” domain name."

I was aware that SEGA is a popular company, but was unaware of this fact
"SEGA also owns and uses several Internet domain names". If SEGA had researched this manner more effectively before jumping to a conclusion perhaps this and other situations could and can be avoided. Many SEGA related domains are being left out in the open such as Dreamcast.us (A popular product), while this might just be corporate oversight we believe it is not. Our view is that SEGA might be unfairly manipulating small organizations/people into believing they have ignored certain Domains/Internet properties for one reason or another and then they press suit.

"Notwithstanding Sega’s long-standing and exclusive rights to its SEGA® marks and names, SEGA recently learned that you have registered the “segagames.com” domain name." Again another case of oversight by SEGA. Our company was not the original Register of "SegaGames.com," We purchased this from another person/organization with the view that a fan site for Sega-Games could be achieved. We checked for direct TM infringement and viewed previous cases that SEGA has taken on these matters. In reference to perhaps the best known case of Sega's previous experience with these matters is "SegaNet.com" an example of Sega's unwillingness to cooperate in certain matters.

"of great concern to SEGA." We would like to know what concerns SEGA most about our ownership of the domain before further action is taken. Perhaps we can come to some agreements on Content, Use, and Position the site will take. Such as but not limited to Non-Offensive Stature towards SEGA Corp, Does not Sell any SegaProducts/Any that SEGA feels are hurtful, and of course the PR.

"Moreover, any use this confusingly similar domain name will support claims for, among other things, intentional trademark infringement, trademark dilution and unfair competition, which provide for treble damages and attorneys’ fees." No website is up yet and if one does go up much consideration will be placed in its content and its non-affiliation with SEGA. "unfair competition" We would like to know how a site promoting SEGA and its affiliate would be unfair Competition.

We would like to discuss this matter more in depth before jumping to hasty conclusions. We feel that this matter can be solved if both sides are willing to concede certain things. We are big fans of SEGA and wish the best for them as can be seen by our upcoming Fan site. We also acknowledge the prestige of your law firm and we trust that this situation can be kept clean.

Thank You for your time and we appreciate your willingness to work on this Matter.

*********************************

____________________________________________________

 

[draqon]

some of the things you said were accurate, but some of your points made me cringe. If you actually tried to say them in a WIPO suit, the panelists would drag you through the mud.

For example, arguing that because SEGA chose to leave an obscure domain like Dreamcast.us unregistered, they are somehow showing bad faith, is ridiculous. So is suggesting that they are trying to manipulate individuals into cybersquatting and then filing suit. What on earth would SEGA have to gain by doing this? Absolutely nothing.

Also, the fact that you are not the first registrant (creator) of the domain, is irrelevant I believe. You, for whatever reason, now possess a domain that they believe is a violation of their intellectual property. It doesnt matter if you are the creator or if it has changed hands 1000 times.

Your best bet would be to have a lawyer write up an article explaining why your registration of the SEgaGames.com is acceptable under UDRP policy because it was your intention of providing a non-commercial information site about Sega Games.

 

[RacerX]

Originally posted by Darkfire001
Hmm, Would that pass in court? I know they would spend more trying not to pay it but most of those companies are tightfisted.

Here is the Letter I sent to them Yesterday.

____________________________________________________
Hello McKnew,

Thank you for your time. We are perfectly willing to cooperate with Sega over the domain "SegaGames.com". We had no plans on reselling this to SEGA or any of its competitors nor did we ever offer at anytime too. We had planned to develop this into a fan site in the near future along with many of our other game websites. We feel that SEGA is handling this matter poorly. (SEGA refers to SEGA Corp and or Representation)

"As you undoubtedly are aware, SEGA owns long-standing and exclusive rights to its famous and distinctive SEGA® marks and names in countries throughout the world. Indeed, SEGA owns trademark registrations and pending trademark applications in the United States and other countries for various trademarks that are comprised of or include the term SEGA, such as the marks SEGA®, SEGA® (and Design), SEGA.COM™ and SEGANET™ for a wide variety of products and services, including computer game hardware, software and peripherals, video game programs, machines and peripherals, and online gaming and entertainment services. SEGA also owns and uses several Internet domain names that are comprised of or include its famous and distinctive SEGA® marks and names to promote its products and services, including the “sega.com” domain name."

I was aware that SEGA is a popular company, but was unaware of this fact
"SEGA also owns and uses several Internet domain names". If SEGA had researched this manner more effectively before jumping to a conclusion perhaps this and other situations could and can be avoided. Many SEGA related domains are being left out in the open such as Dreamcast.us (A popular product), while this might just be corporate oversight we believe it is not. Our view is that SEGA might be unfairly manipulating small organizations/people into believing they have ignored certain Domains/Internet properties for one reason or another and then they press suit.

"Notwithstanding Sega’s long-standing and exclusive rights to its SEGA® marks and names, SEGA recently learned that you have registered the “segagames.com” domain name." Again another case of oversight by SEGA. Our company was not the original Register of "SegaGames.com," We purchased this from another person/organization with the view that a fan site for Sega-Games could be achieved. We checked for direct TM infringement and viewed previous cases that SEGA has taken on these matters. In reference to perhaps the best known case of Sega's previous experience with these matters is "SegaNet.com" an example of Sega's unwillingness to cooperate in certain matters.

"of great concern to SEGA." We would like to know what concerns SEGA most about our ownership of the domain before further action is taken. Perhaps we can come to some agreements on Content, Use, and Position the site will take. Such as but not limited to Non-Offensive Stature towards SEGA Corp, Does not Sell any SegaProducts/Any that SEGA feels are hurtful, and of course the PR.

"Moreover, any use this confusingly similar domain name will support claims for, among other things, intentional trademark infringement, trademark dilution and unfair competition, which provide for treble damages and attorneys’ fees." No website is up yet and if one does go up much consideration will be placed in its content and its non-affiliation with SEGA. "unfair competition" We would like to know how a site promoting SEGA and its affiliate would be unfair Competition.

We would like to discuss this matter more in depth before jumping to hasty conclusions. We feel that this matter can be solved if both sides are willing to concede certain things. We are big fans of SEGA and wish the best for them as can be seen by our upcoming Fan site. We also acknowledge the prestige of your law firm and we trust that this situation can be kept clean.

Thank You for your time and we appreciate your willingness to work on this Matter.

Paul Reichelt of Darkfire001ManagementCo

____________________________________________________

You lose.

Another sucker takes the lawyers bait.

Bye bye domain.

 

[Darkfire001]

Thanks for the constructive feedback dragon. I realize now I should have taken out the part on Sega intentionally overlooking the domains.

 

[RMF]

"Never say more then needs to be said."

Remember that.

RMF