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Ask HN: Own .com for 7 years, a new company trademarked my name registered .NET

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Re: Ask HN: Own .com for 7 years, a new company trademarked my name registered .NET

#131

Post by scrose »

maccard wrote: post #93
nicbou wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my experience, a lawyer will also nudge you towards whichever course involves keeping a lawyer involved. They'll never tell you "if I were in your shoes, I wouldn't keep going".

Ive had three legal advice experiences - two with work and one personal. The employer ones were both straightforward about whether or not we should do something, and they did not encourage us to keep returning to them on the issue, and the personal one the guy gave me a 30 minute phone call, advised me that if I wanted to formally pursue the matter I would need to engage his services at £200/hour, however his unoffic…

> my experience with developers is that developers will repeatedly tell you that the software isn't complete and requires extra attention to keep it running and to maintain it

Is that not true in most cases? A running system will eventually become vulnerable to attacks, and/or services it relies on may be deprecated. The last thing you want is to be in a situation where your software is easily exploitable, but your dependencies are so far behind that a fix becomes a multi-month or year long project.

Re: Ask HN: Own .com for 7 years, a new company trademarked my name registered .NET

#133

Post by sdoering »

otterley wrote: post #39
codingdave wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly. Licensed attorney's typically avoid any commentary at all that could be construed as advice, to avoid creating a relationship. So if someone is sticking their neck out, it is hard to imagine there isn't an ulterior motive in telling everyone to lawyer up when they get a letter. Not that their advice is wrong - you should consult a lawyer over internet advice. But the "everyone else is wrong, listen to me" fl…

I'm being heavy-handed here because 20 years ago, before I was a lawyer, I was sued, failed to hire counsel in time, and unnecessarily lost my shirt as a result. I don't want the same thing to happen to OP. Legal questions come up on HN from time to time and the usual response is a bunch of wannabe lawyers incorrecting one another, and if OP follows any of their advice, Bad Things could result. I spoke up early this…

Thanks for being a voice of reason.

Re: Ask HN: Own .com for 7 years, a new company trademarked my name registered .NET

#134

Post by [deleted] »

Ancapistani wrote: post #123
dtech wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems like an excellent way to lose your domain in a default judgement

A default judgement requires that a case be filed. In the US, that means they have to serve you notice of the case. Obviously they have the OP's address, so if they fail to serve him the judgement should be easy enough to set aside. I'd do absolutely nothing in this circumstance until and unless they actually initiate a legal proceeding. If they did sue for the domain, depending on the value of brand I probably lawye…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Own .com for 7 years, a new company trademarked my name registered .NET

#135

Post by otterley »

ransom1538 wrote: post #96
dtech wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems like an excellent way to lose your domain in a default judgement

"Strictly speaking, a cease and desist letter is not legally binding because the recipient can choose to ignore it. However, it is a valid legal document that establishes a precedent of a plaintiff's grievance. Usually, the letter sets a time limit for the recipient to comply with the request to desist from the offending action — or deliver an appropriate response if they believe the letter was sent in error." Take t…

This is not legal advice, but I don't recommend waiting until a suit is filed. Hiring counsel early and figuring out how to respond to the initial notice can be important: it might keep the courts out of the dispute altogether (especially if the other side is on very weak grounds) and might increase the settlement amount (if any) should OP choose to settle and transfer the domain.

There's more to this issue than just the naked law and legal procedure. Context matters, and experienced lawyers help you navigate situations. They're called "counsel" for a reason. :-)

Re: Ask HN: Own .com for 7 years, a new company trademarked my name registered .NET

#136

Post by yosito »

hn_throwaway_69 wrote: post #51

I take the view that there needs to be a penalty for people who send out these letters but fail in their ultimate claim. If you send cease and desist letters without merit you should be forced to indemnify the respondent for the entirety of their attorney's fees and pay exemplary damages. This would require lawyers to make a careful assessment about prospects of success, rather than hoping to scare the other side int…

I believe you can usually file in small claims court to recover your legal fees.

Re: Ask HN: Own .com for 7 years, a new company trademarked my name registered .NET

#137

Post by daveevad »

chiefalchemist wrote: post #112
otterley wrote: post #21

Every answer in this thread is wrong except for "hire an attorney and work with them to figure out what the best option for you is." Do not follow any "free legal advice" from HN -- and I'm speaking as an actual licensed attorney.

Can't up vote this enough. 1) This is an ex co-worker . I believe she's well versed in such things. I get nothing for this mention. https://kinneyfirm.com/ 2) That said, one of the keys to trademark is being in the same industry, such that the public might get confused. Apple Computer striking a deal with Apple Records, once the former started to sell music, is a good example. Prior to that, there was no (legal or ma…

One thing I noticed during the Get Back Beatles Documentary recently released, is that Apple Records was a subsidiary of Apple Corps. The Beatles' Apple had much bolder ambitions than I had realized. In the film, they discussed movies and performances under the Apple umbrella.

John Lennon himself described it as: "we've got this thing called 'Apple' which is going to be records, films, and electronics – which all tie up."

Re: Ask HN: Own .com for 7 years, a new company trademarked my name registered .NET

#138

Post by therealmarv »

They cannot take away your .com away if you have it for a longer time. Trademark does not give companies a free pass to take away your domain name, especially when their company was not existing when you've registered your domain name. It's not how this works. Trademark is a kind of protection, a company name alone, registering a domain name (all without trademark) is also a kind of claim and protection. Trademarks work for the future and not into the past, especially not into a past where the company registering the trademark was not existing! I would completely ignore what they demand.

Re: Ask HN: Own .com for 7 years, a new company trademarked my name registered .NET

#139

Post by chrisseaton »

theartfuldodger wrote: post #26

This has happened to me several times, I have never taken it seriously or put much effort into responding. I usually would go straight to the throat and very personal. Publish their letter on the domain they seek, capture all lawyer and company details and publish to site. Use opsec for phone numbers, call them at terrible hours ( at home) to discuss offers of payment. They are trying to bleed you with superior resou…

> call them at terrible hours ( at home)

This is a really nasty idea. You’ll be bothering their family who have nothing to do with it. Sounds like you’re advocating harassment of people’s families.

Re: Ask HN: Own .com for 7 years, a new company trademarked my name registered .NET

#140

Post by kingcharles »

nicbou wrote: post #55
prepend wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t question your motives in this instance, but I always pay extra attention when someone’s advice is to hire them or someone like them. Obviously, “hire a lawyer,” is sometimes right. But if I hired a lawyer every time I was told to, I would be out hundreds of hours of billing fees. Anecdotally, I’ve never fucked anything up royally. That doesn’t mean that I made the right decision, but is something I strive for…

In my experience, a lawyer will also nudge you towards whichever course involves keeping a lawyer involved. They'll never tell you "if I were in your shoes, I wouldn't keep going".

99% of the lawyers I've met are scum, and I've met hundreds.

One lawyer I hired to defend me in a contractual pay dispute said to me on the first meeting with both sides "Do not let this get to court. If this goes to court the only people that will win are me and the other lawyer. We'll both get to take an extra vacation this year." So, 1% of lawyers are not scum.

Luckily it didn't need to go to court. I walked into the meeting, let the other side play hardball, "We're not going to pay you any of the money we owe you, go fuck yourself." and then showed them in the contract they had signed where it says they don't own any of the copyright to any of the work I developed for them. They left the room and came back several minutes later with a cheque.

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