To respond or not to respond...that is the question.

[totenmaske]

Hey everyone,

I've been out of the biz for a while due to personal obligations but I still have roughly 75 domains registered.

However; this is the first C&D that I have received

Hi Stanley,

Your website www.xxxxc.com was recently brought to our attention. Although you have a disclaimer at the bottom of the page, we are still concerned that if consumer traffic visited your page, they could mistakenly think that the page is owned by xxxxk. In an effort to protect our trademark, we'd like to ask that you take the website down, especially since it appears to be a dormant website that has not produced any sales for you in quite some time.

If you agree in writing to discontinue use of this website and allow it to expire (which appears to be later this year), we will in turn agree to not take further action.

Please advise!

The domain in question is basically an affiliate search engine that directs traffic to the TM owners site. Despite the claims above the site does generate some revenue over and above reg fee or I would have let it expire years ago. The domain does not generate enough to fight over though LOL.

Should I respond now or wait for a certified C&D?

Would the statement above "If you agree in writing to discontinue use of this website and allow it to expire (which appears to be later this year), we will in turn agree to not take further action." hold up if I reply stating that I will let the domain drop?

Advice please and thank you.

 

[Focus]

They have made a legally binding offer imo, I would just agree to what they say. I would however ask to keep the domain and use it for a non-related purpose.

The other issue is that they obviously have been aware of your usage of the domain and it seems that you have some sort of business relationship with this company, not knowing all the details of what the name is, etc. it is impossible to be more specific about what your options are. Maybe John Berryhill will chime in and give us a professional legal opinion...

 

[totenmaske]

Thanks for the insight Focus.

The TM owner and I have indeed had a working relationship in the past and I'm suprised that this has even come up as an issue.

I'm not going to respond right away...give myself some time to ponder the situation.

 

[Focus]

Their permission/allowance of you to use and monetize the name definitely factors into the equation imo. If one day day they up and decide to disallow this then by all means I can understand them giving you notice regarding this decision, but attempting to force you to drop the name surely is not a solution to the underlying issue of the domain name and of someone using or possessing it because it's going to get picked back up and then someone else will have the domain, etc. Also, I don't think there is much they can really do other than spend money on a UDRP to try to take the name from you and claim their trademark rights to it, if they have "allowed" you to have a working relationship with you and are aware of the domain name then I highly doubt there is any chance of them claiming any damages from you whatsoever. Again, without knowing the specific name and more information that's my take on the situation. I think they are surely trying to "bluff" you into dropping the domain, which does'nt make sense because then someone else will get it. A reasonable solution to this situation might be their opportunity to purchase it from you at a reasonable price, it's going to cost them at least $1,500 or so to do so by the dispute process. If negotiating such an agreement with them, I would prefer to do so by phone to begin with as opposed to sending them an email offering it for sale which could be seen as bad faith usage & intent to profit..again though, going to cost them the low x,xxx anyways to take it to that point. If your price makes more sense than the cost of the udrp which they may or may not win..I'm guessing they would opt for the easy solution that costs them less money. Unless of course you have pissed them off and they want to just make an example out of the situation which is also a possibility when money is of no concern.

 

[Jacksplat]

Don't let it drop. If anything, point it do a non-harmful destination. For my Canadian domains which get these letters I point it to the Canadian Gov site. Non-Profit, public interest, etc..

Requesting to drop it is simply stupid. What are there plans when it drops, to jump into the auction or go after the next guy ?

Disregard the potential revenue from your present affiliation and play some hardball. Sometimes these people need to spend some energy. That's the last thing they want to do (unless they're like me of course).

Good luck and let us know what happens.

 

[totenmaske]

Thank you for your response Jack.

I contacted them to ask for a phone number so that I can call and speak to someone regarding the issue.

Once the situation is resolved one way or the other I will defintely post here...