Will it be a problem? prodrive.me

Serge · Mar 18, 2010

I have a domain name prodrive.me - all TLD's with prodrive in name are taken. I'm running a moto news site for polish drivers in the UK at this address but now I'm thinking about selling this domain (PR2) or developing it into something different (it would be great name for driving school). The problem is that Prodrive in the UK is a well known company connected to rallies (Subaru) and GT races. They owe most of global TLD's.

My question is: if I design a website for a driving school or something like that and then will sell it, will the buyer be at risk that Prodrive will ask for this domain if it will be UK based driving school or something?

And additional thing: how to transfer this domain and what is the cost of this operation? It's registered at 123reg.

accelerator · Mar 18, 2010

Serge said:
I have a domain name prodrive.me - all TLD's with prodrive in name are taken. I'm running a moto news site for polish drivers in the UK at this address but now I'm thinking about selling this domain (PR2) or developing it into something different (it would be great name for driving school). The problem is that Prodrive in the UK is a well known company connected to rallies (Subaru) and GT races. They owe most of global TLD's.

My question is: if I design a website for a driving school or something like that and then will sell it, will the buyer be at risk that Prodrive will ask for this domain if it will be UK based driving school or something?

And additional thing: how to transfer this domain and what is the cost of this operation? It's registered at 123reg.

If there is a UK trademark taken out on the name which relates to the class of business the website will cover, then yes, there could be a problem. Search at ipo.gov.uk for trademarks. (Online TM Services / By mark text).

I think .me transfers follow a similar procedure to .com and you should be able to request the transfer from your 123reg control panel.

Rgds

Serge · Mar 18, 2010

Thank you Accelerator for a quick reply.
I've checked name prodrive and what I found is that this name is registered by number of companies for building materials, footwear, design of vehicles and vehicles components, repair and maintenance of motor vehicles, agricultural vehicles (Screwfix, John Deere, Prodrive). I've checked also classes and looks OK to sell this domain for driving school in the UK or anywhere else in the world.