Can somebody help ....? I'd bought an acronym (let's call it WXYZ.com) well over 3 yrs ago, it wasn't TMd then and it still isn't, semi-pronounceable, we haven't had time to develop, it's always been parked. This jerk contacted me over 1 yr ago, here are the main parts of his text (edited for spelling), Jan 12, 2011. It was his response to a friendly email I'd sent after his inquiry about sale/price, we've always listed it high $ XXX s. I said he should make an offer, it's still worth that to us + we paid a lot for it, others have also sent inquiries. In this text as you see he claims he'd been using it as his own "trademark" for 2 yrs, obviously he wasn't familiar w/what a trademark meant, at least not back then, & thought that starting a biz & calling it WXYZ would give him tm rights, he also claimed he was sick + poor, wow.....whereas all domainers are 100% healthy & filthy rich I guess ... they aren't even his initials (which would not make any difference) he took part of his 1st name and part of his last name and lo and behold, he had his own trademark, isn't he clever ! ............
Before we got a chance to reply he emailed 8 days later (Jan 20, 2011), same story, in another part of the email he implied I should donate WXYZ.com to his biz for altruistic reasons, (gee, aren't domainers so loaded that we can afford giving out names for free !) then I simply forgot to answer, I actually didn't know what to say if I had.....
Now he's treatening me that he's about to trademark "WXYZ" (we've owned WXYZ.com well over 3 yrs) and that once he does I face a $ 250 K penalty for violating his tm, even though we've owned the thing free and clear > 3 yrs, anyone who reads all he's said (not all of it is posted below) knows he had neither the resources nor the intention to tm any domain and is only resorting to this so that if the tm is granted to him he can then "force" me to sell him WXYZ.com for $ 150 (or perhaps just donate it !) .....
I wonder if I should even reply since he'll use anything I say against me, the truth is that assuming h was telling the truth about being sick/poor I'd feel sorry but no one has ever helped me because I'm in dire straights w/$ or w/a health problem, in fact both apply to me right now.... (anybody here got any free names for me ? lol) Since he wanted it for free a yr ago and now only offers $ 150 there cannot be any deal since the gap is too wide.... does anybody know for sure he doesn't have a prayer w/this ? while it's not a dictionary word, number, etc, something that would be denied as a tm, it still is a 4-letter acronym that isn't pronounceable, I don't know how easy it is for someone to succeed w/such lousy claim since by his own admisssion his business only started in 2009 and we'd owned the name several mos already back then.....my concern is that ICANN (provided someone recommended he go there) would make me give it to him/sell it cheap just because we're not putting it to "good use", I would've been shocked if anyone had made this argument not long ago except I once read an ICANN officer did exactly that, making a domain owner give up the name for that very reason, the decision was heavily critized and it was said that officer was inexperienced (I'll try to get that link and post it, it should make for an interesting read.....)
In the event that he should win for some strange reason then we should all leave domaining immediately since in that case what's to prevent some domainer who doesn't like me from trademarking my 5 top names just so that I can later be forced to let him have them/sell to him dirt cheap ? I'd be willing to negotiate if it was a "reasonable" price like he argues, only "reasonable" means a lot less money to him (I didn't know if I should post this in the domain lawyers' own area....) If this is happening to me it can happen to you, I tried to read relevant lit on this but my main question wasn't answered, he could be just blowing smoke and isn't even trying to tm the thing but if people are telling him he has a decent chance he may be going for it for real, he probably went to a domain appraisal free service and the site told him $ 150, lol, if those appraisal services had any accuracy I'deitherbe a millionaire or would've sold my valuable names for like $ 5 !...... Could this jerk ever even have ANY remote claim whatsoever ?.....
Jan 12, 2011
â¦..I was trying to avoid an argument over an item that has been used by myself as my trademark for the past two years. I have a GOOD standing with that name. How much do you think itâs worth ? Please be reasonable. I am just a local photographer with a good name and camera. Itâs worth something to me but not if itâll put me bankrupt. I only have my disability to work with and I still have my bills to payâ¦..
Jan 20, 2011
â¦..My trademark is only very locally known in small areas like a clinic. I'm trying to have a doctor open with my name in order to trade help....and with my trademark I can basically help him get his non-profit clinic open..... I have the .net and .me and all but those wouldn't be the same. Obviously the .org and .com are the most common and it would greatly help the people of Miamiâ¦.. It involves a bit of marketing so the .com would greatly benefit is. But this is a very tough and large job we are attempting to do on a tight budget with very limited resources other than donations and grantsâ¦â¦..Any generous offer on your part would be highly appreciated and not taken for grantedâ¦â¦
May 8, 2012
â¦.. Please contact me at my email promptly to avoid any company damages on your part. I just recently submitted many trademark images from the year 2009-2012, including vehicle, corporate name, advertisement on both websites as well as commercially. My car license plate was even sent. Business cards, fliers, logos, t-shirts, pens, photos with my logos, websites (many more than you own), and also investors, including Social Security Disability willing to provide me free legal aid as soon as my trademark is registered. â¦.. Remember, the domain name is only appraised for $150. Violation of a trademark is $250,000 not including any damages incurredâ¦â¦. Offer a reasonable price, and no one needs to risk going to court in Floridaâ¦â¦
Before we got a chance to reply he emailed 8 days later (Jan 20, 2011), same story, in another part of the email he implied I should donate WXYZ.com to his biz for altruistic reasons, (gee, aren't domainers so loaded that we can afford giving out names for free !) then I simply forgot to answer, I actually didn't know what to say if I had.....
Now he's treatening me that he's about to trademark "WXYZ" (we've owned WXYZ.com well over 3 yrs) and that once he does I face a $ 250 K penalty for violating his tm, even though we've owned the thing free and clear > 3 yrs, anyone who reads all he's said (not all of it is posted below) knows he had neither the resources nor the intention to tm any domain and is only resorting to this so that if the tm is granted to him he can then "force" me to sell him WXYZ.com for $ 150 (or perhaps just donate it !) .....
I wonder if I should even reply since he'll use anything I say against me, the truth is that assuming h was telling the truth about being sick/poor I'd feel sorry but no one has ever helped me because I'm in dire straights w/$ or w/a health problem, in fact both apply to me right now.... (anybody here got any free names for me ? lol) Since he wanted it for free a yr ago and now only offers $ 150 there cannot be any deal since the gap is too wide.... does anybody know for sure he doesn't have a prayer w/this ? while it's not a dictionary word, number, etc, something that would be denied as a tm, it still is a 4-letter acronym that isn't pronounceable, I don't know how easy it is for someone to succeed w/such lousy claim since by his own admisssion his business only started in 2009 and we'd owned the name several mos already back then.....my concern is that ICANN (provided someone recommended he go there) would make me give it to him/sell it cheap just because we're not putting it to "good use", I would've been shocked if anyone had made this argument not long ago except I once read an ICANN officer did exactly that, making a domain owner give up the name for that very reason, the decision was heavily critized and it was said that officer was inexperienced (I'll try to get that link and post it, it should make for an interesting read.....)
In the event that he should win for some strange reason then we should all leave domaining immediately since in that case what's to prevent some domainer who doesn't like me from trademarking my 5 top names just so that I can later be forced to let him have them/sell to him dirt cheap ? I'd be willing to negotiate if it was a "reasonable" price like he argues, only "reasonable" means a lot less money to him (I didn't know if I should post this in the domain lawyers' own area....) If this is happening to me it can happen to you, I tried to read relevant lit on this but my main question wasn't answered, he could be just blowing smoke and isn't even trying to tm the thing but if people are telling him he has a decent chance he may be going for it for real, he probably went to a domain appraisal free service and the site told him $ 150, lol, if those appraisal services had any accuracy I'deitherbe a millionaire or would've sold my valuable names for like $ 5 !...... Could this jerk ever even have ANY remote claim whatsoever ?.....
Jan 12, 2011
â¦..I was trying to avoid an argument over an item that has been used by myself as my trademark for the past two years. I have a GOOD standing with that name. How much do you think itâs worth ? Please be reasonable. I am just a local photographer with a good name and camera. Itâs worth something to me but not if itâll put me bankrupt. I only have my disability to work with and I still have my bills to payâ¦..
Jan 20, 2011
â¦..My trademark is only very locally known in small areas like a clinic. I'm trying to have a doctor open with my name in order to trade help....and with my trademark I can basically help him get his non-profit clinic open..... I have the .net and .me and all but those wouldn't be the same. Obviously the .org and .com are the most common and it would greatly help the people of Miamiâ¦.. It involves a bit of marketing so the .com would greatly benefit is. But this is a very tough and large job we are attempting to do on a tight budget with very limited resources other than donations and grantsâ¦â¦..Any generous offer on your part would be highly appreciated and not taken for grantedâ¦â¦
May 8, 2012
â¦.. Please contact me at my email promptly to avoid any company damages on your part. I just recently submitted many trademark images from the year 2009-2012, including vehicle, corporate name, advertisement on both websites as well as commercially. My car license plate was even sent. Business cards, fliers, logos, t-shirts, pens, photos with my logos, websites (many more than you own), and also investors, including Social Security Disability willing to provide me free legal aid as soon as my trademark is registered. â¦.. Remember, the domain name is only appraised for $150. Violation of a trademark is $250,000 not including any damages incurredâ¦â¦. Offer a reasonable price, and no one needs to risk going to court in Floridaâ¦â¦
