Possible domain name conflict!!!

[Oceanic]

Hi,

I was wondering whether anyone can provide any guidance....

I recently bought a bunch of .co.uk domains all of them generic domains with the view to developing them.

One of them I could only get the .co.uk and not the .com, I did check to see what was happening on this site and just got error messages. I put a holding page up on my site whilst I develop the site. Now a site has gone live on the .com domain offering exactly what I was intending to offer, it looks like they intend to promote the site the UK market but did not think about getting the .co.uk which I bought in good faith.

If I press ahead with my site am I likely to face any legal issues based on the domains being identical except for the extension?

To give you an idea of the domains involved and the sites, they are classifieds sites with domains like (Examples)ForSale.co.uk / com


What should I do, I am reluctant to give up my idea and I do not particularly need the .com domain to make a success of my plan but having someone out there doing exactly the same on the .com seems silly?

I have sent them a polite email explaining the situation and see whether they have any ideas?


Any ideas?

Cheers

 

[accelerator]

Are all the terms in your domain totally generic? If so, I can't see a problem, they'll just have a bit of competition. If there is a brand name in the domain there could be problems.

Rgds

 

[retired_member13]

It does make a huge difference what the words actually are.

For generic rights to apply fully the entire string must be in common usage and used by many different companies, so LawnmowersForSale.com would be less easy to protect from a .co.uk version than YesItsForSale.com which is much more recognisable as a unique mark.

Obviously it is perfectly possible for 2 generic words together to make a trademark even when the words are generically linked to the business, think of Silent+Night (beds) or Burger+King.

 

[Oceanic]

It does make a huge difference what the words actually are.

For generic rights to apply fully the entire string must be in common usage and used by many different companies, so LawnmowersForSale.com would be less easy to protect from a .co.uk version than YesItsForSale.com which is much more recognisable as a unique mark.

Obviously it is perfectly possible for 2 generic words together to make a trademark even when the words are generically linked to the business, think of Silent+Night (beds) or Burger+King.

Thanks for the advice chaps, my .co.uk domain is as generic as the lawnmowersforsale example.

Not really sure what to do here, I am not up for a battle or anything.

 

[retired_member13]

Another way of looking at it is that if you're concerned about infringing on someone else's rights before you start is the idea that good that you want to commit going through with it?

If the name is really generic, maybe you should contact the other party and see what they say about it? They might offer you a quick sale and then everyone's happy.

 

[Oceanic]

Another way of looking at it is that if you're concerned about infringing on someone else's rights before you start is the idea that good that you want to commit going through with it?

If the name is really generic, maybe you should contact the other party and see what they say about it? They might offer you a quick sale and then everyone's happy.

I have put a lot of time and effort in so far so I would be pretty annoyed to stop now, I have emailed them to see what they suggest.

 

[accelerator]

I have put a lot of time and effort in so far so I would be pretty annoyed to stop now, I have emailed them to see what they suggest.

If it's generic then I would just carry on and get the site up and running. Even if there's little competition now, competitors have a tendency to pop up on the internet.

Rgds

 

[Darren]

Was there any response from .com owner?

I’m in a similar situation owning the .co.uk version of a pure generic .com

The .com has a very similar business model as to I’m planning.

Would appreciate people’s thoughts and advice.

Sorry for the hi-jack.

Thanks, Darren.

 

[julian]

I think the worst thing you can do now is leave them parked or undeveloped..

 

[namealot]

Just because your using the same generic term does not mean they have anymore right to the .co.uk than you…? there is nothing stopping you from filing against them for the generic .com

The law permits businesses in different geographic markets to use identical trade names, unless the good will and reputation of an existing business extend into the market where a new business has opened

A word/term is generic if its primary meaning to the prospective purchasers is the product/service and not the producer of the product/provider of the service.

Words/Terms that originally are trademarks/marks may, over time, be adopted by the public as the common name for the product/service and become generic. If a word/term becomes generic, the owner of the trademark/mark cannot exclude others from using it or recover damages for the use. Examples of words that have lost trademark protection because they became generic names of products they identified include "aspirin", "thermos" or "cellophane."


These may help you figure out how generic the word is,,,, and if you case is good or bad in the uk


Intellectual Property Office - Trade marks are signs which distinguish your goods/ services from your competitors


Intellectual Property Office - A domain name is a name by which a company or organization is known on the Internet


Intellectual Property Office - Passing off unregistered trade marks

 

[retired_member12]

The .com owner could have easily expressed the same concerns as you if you'd got your site up first, but you didn't, he did.

It's not as if he'll be your only competitor anyway, surely? As for filing against him for the .com, that would simply be sour grapes!