Letter from company director

noonoo1 · May 11, 2015

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 · May 11, 2015

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 · May 11, 2015

newguy said:
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 · May 11, 2015

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

noonoo1 · May 11, 2015

accelerator said:
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.

noonoo1 · May 11, 2015

invincible said:
How the DRS works.

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

Admin · May 12, 2015

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 · May 12, 2015

PM the domains and will provide guidance.

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

accelerator · May 12, 2015

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

Rgds

UncleBob · May 12, 2015

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 · May 12, 2015

When was your domain registered and when was theirs registered?

sdsinc · May 14, 2015

fabpack said:
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 · May 14, 2015

sdsinc said:
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.