Letter from company director

[noonoo1]

Hi,

Yesterday I had a letter from a company director who had written to me by email saying that i should take my site down within 7 days as their site is trademarked.

Their business is trade marked for for a 3 word phrase.

Mine is a two word phrase. (The phrase is similar)

I'm operating in a similar business as theirs but its very relevant to my business.

I have never offered this name for sale to this company or anyone else.

The director then offered me £££ to buy my site.

Its a .co.uk

Fun and games now begin.

What are your thoughts ?

 

[newguy]

Hard to know without more specifics, though the fact he offered to buy it maybe suggests he's not sure where he stands either.

 

[noonoo1]

Hard to know without more specifics, though the fact he offered to buy it maybe suggests he's not sure where he stands either.

Yes i thought that. A single panelist will cost approx £1,100 , 3 panelists is approx £3,000

If claimant wants a single or three panel he pays for the costs including legal fees.

So i guess they don't want to pay the legal fees as it would probably cost them at the minimum £2,500

 

[accelerator]

Could your two word phrase be described as generic? If so, you may have a defence on the basis that it is generic.

 

[noonoo1]

Could your two word phrase be described as generic? If so, you may have a defence on the basis that it is generic.

Yes, the two words are generic.

 

[invincible]

Yes i thought that. A single panelist will cost approx £1,100 , 3 panelists is approx £3,000

If claimant wants a single or three panel he pays for the costs including legal fees.

Since you have said that the domain name is a .co.uk all of the above is entirely irrelevant as it relates to the UDRP, not the Nominet DRS which applies to .uk domain names.

So i guess they don't want to pay the legal fees as it would probably cost them at the minimum £2,500

How the DRS works.

 

[noonoo1]

How the DRS works.

Thanks for that, you're a font of knowledge.

 

[Admin]

are they generic words in their own right? or only generic and tied to the market segment because of the other business?

You could say "acorn" + "domains" are generic words but I could claim they only go together in the domain world due to my activities.

Admin

 

[foz]

PM the domains and will provide guidance.

DRS is £750 plus VAT, time and legal fees (if you respond, £200 if not).

 

[accelerator]

Feel free to PM me the details too if you want my opinion.

Rgds

 

[UncleBob]

please do not take this as sound or solid legal advice, but everything you have said suggests that this company director has got it into his head that a scare tactic will make the sound of just buying the domain off you seem sweeter and a relief.

if it's a generic phrase and you are in competition, not cashing in or trying to build on their name, that's the end of that.

 

[fabpack]

When was your domain registered and when was theirs registered?

 

[sdsinc]

When was your domain registered and when was theirs registered?

That's the question, but also:

Which of the two starting trading first ?

Reasoning: the second comer should have known about the possible competitors, and refrained from using a name that could be construed as confusingly similar.

 

[noonoo1]

That's the question, but also:

Which of the two starting trading first ?

Reasoning: the second comer should have known about the possible competitors, and refrained from using a name that could be construed as confusingly similar.

Their domain name is different from my domain name left of the dot.