How dumb is it to use a TM name once you've lost?

[pam]

THIS DOES NOT REFER TO ME.

Someone I know (really) owned a domain name of a national company -- let's use Nabisco as an example, though it's not food related. Anyway, the company has big lawyers and managed to take the domain from him through the courts. He told me he was going to declare bankruptcy to avoid paying huge penalties.

This was 2 years ago.

Segue to last week, and somehow I came across his new website which is using a free phpBB forum host. The subdomain is, you guessed it, nabisco.freehostname.com (remember, Nabisco is not the name).

How stupid can he be to use this again if he's already lost a trademark case over the same name?

 

[Focus]

what are we suppose to say? dumb? no sure what you are getting at here..if it's a subdomain of some national hosting service then I don't think they can bother him if his business has the same name..they just wanted the domain.

 

[pam]

So, you can use a registered trademark on a sub-domain but not on a domain you own? Is that what you're saying?

I think he's pretty damned stupid to lose a case and then throw it in their face and use the same name for the same purpose again

 

[Focus]

so tell him

 

[petrosc]

no, I don't think he can use it as a subdomain, what Focus meant though is that the company will not care since they got the domain! Remember everything is about traffic and money. Your friend was probably receiving traffic that was looking for the TM holder company and consequently they were losing potential customers/money. What's worse, the domain wasn't a typo but it was the actual name of that company. Since they got it from him though, they will not worry about a subdomain nor they will spend money on lawyers to get it or sue him because that subdomain cannot do much harm nor it receives any traffic (of course all of the above is relative and largely depend on how he uses it)

I just noticed this ...

and use the same name for the same purpose again

do you mean that he was using the domain to compete with that company in their TM area.... and now he is doing the same with the subdomain?

lol he's got balls - he's looking for trouble

 

[Dave Zan]

I think he's pretty damned stupid to lose a case and then throw it in their face and use the same name for the same purpose again

I know someone who knows someone who's doing a similar thing after he lost
a suit to 3M.

 

[Brett Lewis]

Any use of a famous trademark as a trademark can constitute an infringement or dilution of the mark. If a person deliberately antagonizes a multi-billion dollar entity by infringing its trademark after having lost a court case involving the same mark, that person is inviting the corporation to make an example out of them. There are sanctions for violating court orders, including being jailed for contempt of court.

 

[tekz999]

Seems like you already know he is stupid. So why not give him your suggestions as a friend?

 

[GAMEFINEST]

dumb indeed