Advice needed (asked to change trading name)

[DomainM]

I have a regional domain name which received a low offer, I refused the offer for my .com domain name so the interested party has now purchased the exact match .co.uk domain and requested that I abandon all plans for building my .com website.

I have had the exact match Twitter account since 2000? Can I take legal action to force the previously interested party to hand over the .co.uk domain and so remove the threat to my own domain name?

 

[Murray]

Can I take legal action?

On what grounds?

Doesn't seem likely

 

[DomainM]

I have owned the domain name for many years and I had expressed that I would be developing a business on the domain in the future.

Now that the interested party has launched a business using the .co.uk domain and expressly asked that I do not use my domain how should I proceed?

 

[martin-s]

Ignore them and carry on as you were

 

[spiderspider]

...... that I would be developing a business on the domain in the future.

So let me get this right.....

You buy domain and do F@8k all with it.

Someone makes you an offer on it, you refuse, as its still in the 'maybe one day' pile.

They then buy the domain in the .co.uk extension, build something (actually do something with it!) and then say to you 'please don't do anything with yours'.

Is that right?

The twitter thing is so irrelevant, it not worth mentioning.

You can do bugger all. To think that just because you brought a domain and did nothing with it gives you any kind of rights over any other extension is crazy.

 

[spiderspider]

Just re-read that, and I may have seemed a bit harsh.

Ignore them, they can't make you change anything, as much as you can't make them hand over the domain. You could try a DRS, but that would be a waste of time and money.

 

[Adam H]

They are obviously touchy about the .com being developed, show your hand and throw a quick site on there. It might encourage a bigger offer that you could then use that money to rebrand your original idea...................this time protect your brand and buy the major TLDs

 

[DomainM]

Just re-read that, and I may have seemed a bit harsh.

Not harsh, just honest I have contacted Nominet ref starting a DRS action.

The website already has a holding page (uploaded on the 13th Aug) which states my intentions to develop a website. I have owned the domain since 2013 and the .co.uk was registered in 2014. The .co.uk website began trading also on the 13th.

I have no malice against the .co.uk owner however having previously expressed that at some point in the future I would develop a website I find the request to stop all development of the .com domain unreasonable.

 

[markb]

Not harsh, just honest I have contacted Nominet ref starting a DRS action.

The website already has a holding page (uploaded on the 13th Aug) which states my intentions to develop a website. I have owned the domain since 2013 and the .co.uk was registered in 2014. The .co.uk website began trading also on the 13th.

I have no malice against the .co.uk owner however having previously expressed that at some point in the future I would develop a website I find the request to stop all development of the .com domain unreasonable.

Ignore their request and request that they abandon all their plans, and see how they feel.

 

[DomainM]

I replied to the email informing him that I was unwilling to change my plans and suggesting that he may wish to use an alternative brand for his business. Of course this lead to an abrupt email this morning expressing that he "strongly suggests that I change my plans" and that I'm using the domain in bad faith. What really annoys me is that I spoke to the guy a week ago and expressed that I would develop a business on this domain as I had worked in this sector for many years.

 

[Murray]

If you really want to stick it to them, concentrate on making your .com a success

No point wasting time on anything else.

 

[DomainM]

If you really want to stick it to them, concentrate on making your .com a success

No point wasting time on anything else.

I will continue development plans. Unfortunately, the domain is "(geo replace) hampers" dot com so would lead to many confused customers.

 

[Adam H]

I will continue development plans. Unfortunately, the domain is "(geo replace) hampers" dot com so would lead to many confused customers.

Then ask him to make an offer worthy of making you change your business plans, then setup a different brand in the same niche

 

[martin-s]

Unfortunately, the domain is "(geo replace) hampers" dot com so would lead to many confused customers.

That changes things. The reality now is that the first to gain brand recognition will have the stronger hand. I thought your domain was more generic than that.

 

[accelerator]

Actually you are going to be in an increasingly weak position.

The mere act of registering a domain name grants you zero intellectual property rights.

As soon as you start building a genuine business, you start to build intellectual property rights, and build up a distinctive recognisable brand. That in turn gives you the opportunity to apply for a Trademark and further protect your brand.

That said, the Trademark organisations will often grant a Trademark even if you have very limited evidence of your business operations.

If they went ahead and registered a Trademark now, you would be in a very weak position. Trademarks beat domains, every time.

If you really thought it was worth playing hardball, then you could put up a basic site, and apply for a Trademark, then take action.

DRS'ing them without a Trademark isn't a particularly strong move. All you can say is that you've regged the domain before them, and use evidence of your basic holding site to show your intention. They can argue that you weren't doing anything real and were just trying to sell the domain, and provide evidence of their real business.

In general, this is a problem for domainers. Domains themselves confer no intellectual property rights. This means, if you do little or nothing with a domain, someone else can reg a domain, build the business and register a Trademark. If you had your domain before they regged yours, they are unlikely to be able to challenge you for it, but its value will now be severely limited because you can't sell it to anyone else.

Feel free to PM me if you need any more advice.

 

[DomainM]

Thanks for all the feedback, I have a lot to think through.