"Trademark Notice"

[Gumby]

I just received an email from a company's lawyer notifying me that a domain name I have is in violation of their trademark. They want me to let it expire.

Actually, the domain name they said I owned and were trying to sell isn't even mine - they made reference to the singular form of the word/domain whereas I own the plural.

They also made reference to a 'Federally Registered Trademark', but I am from Australia.

The domain name(s) in question is a .net - if they have have a trademark in the United States, shouldn't that mean they have the rights to the .us domain name(s) (which haven't even been registered).

I have a few questions and would really appreciate it if some of the lawyer's here, or people who have had similar experiences, could answer them.

1) Should I extend the registration of the domain name to 10 years?

2) Does the trademark infringement apply to me?

3) Could I win a case based on the fact that they are a US company and now that .us domain names are available for the general public to register, that's all they should be entitled to..?

Thanks

 

[dkny]

nah, just keep the letter in your trash folder.

these lawyers sent out thousands of e-mails everyday.

 

[Mizzoula]

I'm curious as to why companies who get their lawyers to send out letters like this think they have a right to the different extensions. Can someone, a lawyer on the boards here or someone who knows for sure, explain why then if there are several different extensions that they send out a C&D or something while there still remains other extensions available in their trademark? If a company does indeed have a trademark, then it sounds like that entitles them to a free (excluding the regging fees) monopoly of their term/name in every extension--essentially reserving each extension without even registering it? Why even make the other extensions available to register if the name is taken in the dotcom or perhaps a couple other tlds and then get assaulted by the trademark in question?

 

[Oceanic]

Before spending money to reg this domain for another 10 years, I recommend you consult an attorney (they are here at the dforum) about the domain in question.

Under worst case scenario, they can make a WIPO case and have the regsitrar ordered to transfer the domain to them if they win.

I just wanted you to know this. Pehaps an attorney can verify what happens when the registrant is in a country outside the country whre the TM is regged..

 

[HOWARD]

Dotcom is the gold standard of domains. Most companies believe that anything less is not important. The fact that .US may be available has no effect if there IS a TM infringement. Once again it all boils down to how you are using the domain, if you're using it at all.