what's the worst domain u ever regged as far as TM issues are concerned?

[seeker]

anyone care to share any mistakes like regging a domain only to realize that you actually now it is a TM without even checking?

this happened to me once, because I was looking at overture without *thinking*, and about 10 minutes after regging it, I posted a question here on how to get rid of it, and I did...

would be great to hear your stories.

 

[websitedeveloper]

I had a few domains that had the same and similar names as a product / service distributed by Netscape (AOL / Time Warner) and feel I was very lucky that they basically said "just transfer the domains to us and sign this and we'll forget about it". So I did and now about 6 months later 2 of the domains still resolve to my server (I forward them to their site though and they receive a few hundred type-ins per day).
At the time I was was very worried and didn't sleep well out of fear of being sued; my lawyer said up to $250,000!
It was very smart that you had your TM domain deleted and I suggest everyone does it, but that will never happen - have you seen the carzy prices TM domains go for at Pool!?

 

[seeker]

yes, not only at pool, but also on ebay!
I once saw (over a year ago) nikon.cc on ebay.
Somebody actually bought it for something like $10
I feel sorry for the felow.

The domain I accidentally regged, and deleted fast after asking the kind people on this forum on how to delete a name, was:
airbus.biz

and now I see someone else regged it... Good luck to them.

 

[Sticks]

I regged amexcard.net and received too many emails from Amex company asking me to delete the domain. And I said don't contact me , contact the registrar because there is nothing I can do for you at the moment. I don't have privilages to remove a domain.
I don't know what they did and where the domain is now.

 

[Jack Gordon]

When I was a newbie, I thought I struck gold when the .net and .org of a major metropolitan newspaper domain dropped, and I grabbed them. I even contacted the paper to try and sell them. They played games with me, and our negotiations went nowhere. I soon began experiencing the anxiety that comes from cybersquatting, and ended up letting them drop after a year, vowing never to get myself in that situation again. Knowing what I do now about the law, I am lucky they didn't take any action against me. It definitely was not worth it.

 

[ParkQuick.com]

Don't register anything that begins with the number "3" and the letter "m". I had 3mds.com and the 3M Company came after me - despite the fact that nobody in their right mind would confuse the two.

Len

 

[seeker]

that is one weird story. 3mds being confused with 3M???
you did keep it right?

 

[ParkQuick.com]

I turned it over to their lawyers but asked for reimbursement of my expenses. They sent me a check. It just didn't seem to be worth the hassle, and anyone I sold it to would end up with the same battle on their hands.

 

[domainscot]

sold hpinvent.co.uk to hp
had name before company was called hpinvent
also had name lawscot.co.uk law society scotland called lawscot.org.uk the settled with me lol
sold scottishgas.com to scottishgas uk company

 

[actnow]

sold hpinvent.co.uk to hp
had name before company was called hpinvent
also had name lawscot.co.uk law society scotland called lawscot.org.uk the settled with me lol
sold scottishgas.com to scottishgas uk company

I remember the case with the law society.

However, I think you are starting to wear out that horseshoe. :-D
(a horseshoe is suppose to be "good luck".)

 

[mole]

I had 3mds.com and the 3M Company came after me - despite the fact that nobody in their right mind would confuse the two.

I would have smacked them on the face with a wet eel if that happened to me. These reverse cyberjackers are the worse scums in domain land.

 

[schmidte]

I had BassPro.info for about 2 months and then got a nice letter from their lawyers (BassPro.com) in St. Louis. They were pretty nice about it. I turned the name over to them and took the loss. I had it pointing to my fishing site, if I'd been smart I would of just put up a forsale page with a bass guitar on it and probably been safe.

The other one I had was FordMotors.us.......I let it drop. No more TM's for me!!!

ED

 

[seeker]

isnt 'bass' also a fish???

this whole TM issue is very confusing.
You pointed basspro.info to a fishing site.
Why were they threatened by that, since bass is a fish.
its like sharkpro or something.
if you had a for sale page, i think it would have made matters worse.

 

[Jonathan]

So when you guys have turned a domain name over.. in some cases, you don't even get reimbursed for the registration fee?

 

[domainscot]

3things to think about
1. when registering a name always check for tm first (saves you Problem later)
2. if registering a name thats tm based call the company up and ask them if want the name log the time of the call and persons name . then request the persons e-mail address send them a e-mail to confirm that call where they have said they dont need the name .( good legal standing )
3. if you see name thats tm based call the company and tell them your a pro at this game and you noticed that the name might be of intrest to them .
do they want you to aquire it for them
also gets you in the door for other things
trust me it works

 

[seeker]

where do you check for Tms?
uspto?
how about global Tms?
also, calling overseas for me and probably waiting until i get someone who knows what I am talking about on the phone might make it a rather 'large' investment...

 

[schmidte]

isnt 'bass' also a fish???

this whole TM issue is very confusing.
You pointed basspro.info to a fishing site.
Why were they threatened by that, since bass is a fish.
its like sharkpro or something.
if you had a for sale page, i think it would have made matters worse.

Yes, a bass is a fish, but unfortunately BassPro is a registered name. They are a Giant fishing, hunting, camping etc. corporation. I felt that a Bass Pro was (and is) a professional bass fishermen. But it didn't matter what I thought, it was a registered TM and that's that!!
ED

 

[tino]

I have paypalcasino.com/net/org... eBay didn't like that.
I cannot sell or use the domain; I have to let it expire.

Tino

 

[Jeffreyw]

What if i live outside the US, and i have a domain with potential TM issues with a US company, would they still bug me?

 

[seeker]

depending on were you live, the size of the damage can vary.
Of course they will bug you no matter were you are, and you will lose the name. However, if you are in Sudan or Cuba or Bagdad, I dont think they can actually make you pay anything, let alone find you.

If, however you are in the rest 80% of the planet (including the Philippines were you are), there will be trouble.