Local band domain bought against bands will.

[P10n33R]

A few of my friends are in a band. This band has a name that everyone knows them by, which is also then name they use (no way!). A person who runs a local forum is asked what the bands web address is. The said person then buys the domain for the band, the domain he bought is www.papershaker.com, they approach him asking him what is going on. He says to a member of the band that he wants a certain amount of money per month for them to use it.

Did he do anything illegal?

Do my friends have any way to go around him to get the domain into their possession?

 

[JonR]

Based on the story you have told us (hey - they're is always two sides!) this is a clear case of cybersquatting.

You can either sue to get your domain name -- and possibly some money damages -- under a 1999 federal law known as the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, or you can initiate arbitration proceedings under the authority of the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and win the name back without the expense and aggravation of a lawsuit.

http://www.nolo.com/article.cfm/objectID/60EC3491-B4B5-4A98-BB6E6632A2FA0CB2/111/228/195/ART/

 

[P10n33R]

How do you suggest I go about trying to get the domain? I am sure if something legal came up the person would drop the domain. This person is not a real domainer. How do I get something legal involved? (without a laywer)

 

[JonR]

How do you suggest I go about trying to get the domain? I am sure if something legal came up the person would drop the domain. This person is not a real domainer. How do I get something legal involved? (without a laywer)

Contact the person who owns the domain. Let them know that what they have done is illegal. How much are they asking for? If its a very minimal amount, you may want to simply respond showing them (use sources) that what they have done is illegal, and offer them a mere $20 or so.

When all else fails, report it to http://www.icann.org/

 

[Theo]

I smell hypocricy - with a dash of stupidity added. What a fine souffle!

 

[dvestors]

PM sent

 

[LeftRightOut]

I am not a lawyer and not in the sue happy US but personally I would say not much of a chance.

I own at least 5 little garage band name domains from around the world that I know of and i'm sure I have a few names that people have as forum identites or pseduonyms or tags for their subdomain websites that might even get a few hundred visitors a day. Would I ever give it to them for nothing? no way. Something like papershaker is actually a term used to describe cheerleaders and since I don't see Microsoft owning Word.com good luck in that respect. The guy could put up an adult site if he wanted to, works well for branding, and really not much you could do about it unless he is the one going to you and saying "I will do this to it unless you pay me $XXX"

What will your friends do when they see another band use the same name? what if the other band has had that name for longer? Do your friends have a Trademark on the name? are they an international act? The guy just has a netfirms parking page, if your friends approached him to get the name then it's not like he was actively trying to sell it back to them. He might have liked the catchiness of it. A few registration systems work in a similar fashion.

In the domain game you snooze you lose. Obviously the band didn't think it important enough to take care of so it's an important lesson to learn. You think the .com owners of a ccTLD name care to give it away for free when the ccTLD people ask for it because they were too slow to grab the .com version? Unless it's a TM or bad faith you got very little to work with.

 

[Dave Zan]

He he he, fancy meeting you there, P10n33R. Just replied to your same post
at another forum.

 

[JonR]

Apparently I misread the original post, I thought the domain owner approached your band after registering the domain. I am unsure if this is necessarily cybersquatting.

 

[dvestors]

unless the band is signed to a major/independent label or they have their name TM'd,you have no case.

anyone could get together, call themselves a band and name themselves papershaker. You have no legal case for a garage/local band. The name could mean anything.

 

[FineE]

unless the band is signed to a major/independent label or they have their name TM'd,you have no case.

anyone could get together, call themselves a band and name themselves papershaker. You have no legal case for a garage/local band. The name could mean anything.

Wrong! Ever heard of common law trademarks? If the band provided goods or services under the name (ie music) they have a TM. The trouble here is cost. An arbitration under the ICANN UDRP starts around $1500 US. By the way the US Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act does not apply in Canada.

 

[Theo]

There are geographic restrictions in common law marks. If the band only played in their local town, that's where the mark exists.

 

[FineE]

There are geographic restrictions in common law marks. If the band only played in their local town, that's where the mark exists.

Absolutely. But if the cybersquatter is aware of the mark and is showing bad faith, as may well be the case here, then there may be a good UDRP case. There is no requirement that the mark be famous or worldwide for a good UDRP case

What if the TM holder and the cybersquatter are in the same remote small town? It can still be a valid case.

 

[Theo]

If the kids were dumb enough not to register the .com domain they are probably half as smart to pursue anything legally.

 

[FineE]

If the kids were dumb enough not to register the .com domain they are probably half as smart to pursue anything legally.

Since when was failure to register a domain on the part of the TM holder a defense in an UDRP case?

 

[Theo]

So let me get this straight...if I register domains for profit, e.g. for type-in redirects etc I am an entrepreneur, but if I dare sell a domain to someone by the same name I am a "cybersquatter". LOL

I pity the foo' who don't reg their name early on.

 

[diverge]

How much did the good samaritan ask for the domain? Be specific, please.

 

[mmkrulz]

How much did the good samaritan ask for the domain? Be specific, please.

i think it was implied that this person is looking for a monthly fee to lease the domain rather than just sell it.

 

[P10n33R]

i think it was implied that this person is looking for a monthly fee to lease the domain rather than just sell it.

Yeah, the person wants an insanely high fee for it too. I am not 100% sure on the number as of this moment.

 

[Theo]

Just noticed the incident is in Ontario, Canada. Maybe the seller would settle for a few cases of beer and a party with strippers.