201–210 of 293 posts
They have no right to their claim and are using abusive language to make you do something under threat.
You can get quite some money out of it I believe.
IANAL and this is not a legal advice.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
>Are you in the same industry and compete with each other? If so, there might be an issue ... > as I was using the name 7+ years before them with a similar product Sounds like they are, but that the issue is in the reverse, they are trying to steal the authors market and product directly by using their name. This is very aggressive, not to mention wrong.
Hope to read a follow up post one day about how the end result of this letter is the company who sent the letter loses their trademark and domains.
That may not be punishment enough to prevent them from becoming a repeat offender. In an ideal world the result would cost the directors the right to start a business for a long period of time.
I don't see that as too severe in any light - This is pretty close to fraud: trying to undercut market forces by dishonestly claiming rights to the name of a business with 7 years more history.
Their only defence to malicious intent would be ignorance of the author's business existence prior to theirs - which is completely unbelievable considering that's the first and most obvious fact that will be used to settle the issue. Their lawyers would have to claim complete incompetence.
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.
Is it wrong to try to be informed of the law (when ignorance is rarely an excuse)? To find out what rights a trademark or a domain name confer? Or to list precedent and examples, such as nissan.com? We should just stick our heads in the sand, resign ourselves to total ignorance and helplessness, and let the lawyers do all the thinking?
Lets make this specific. Look at this comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29522196
Are you saying every part of that comment, except for "This is probably not DIY territory; consult a lawyer knowledgable about trademark law to help you determine how to respond." is wrong?
For example, is the following statement wrong in the U.S.?
> Just like patents have a concept of "prior art," trademarks have a concept of "first use in commerce."
I'm an IP lawyer but not your lawyer, and I'm licensed only in Texas and California, so don't rely on this as legal advice. Back in the day I did a fair amount of trademark litigation but that was quite a few years ago; these days I do neither trademark work nor litigation. 1. A bit of Google-searching suggests that you're in Australia. I couldn't find any U.S. trademark registration for $NAME, where your .com domain…
FWIW this is the kind of protection you could get by registering your business/product's mark. I'd say it's still possible but probably slightly harder to do now.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
"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…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Huh, you can't defend yourself?
Yes, you can. But then you'd need to appear... obtw there's serious risk of trying to defend a suit yourself. Maybe the judge would take pity on you and grant a continuance for you to find counsel.
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…
It seems to me that there are enough cases of obvious misbehavior like this that don't get punished, but I get that it would open up a lot of risks where it would be a matter of opinion. They hate judgment calls if they can possibly avoid them.
They like the law to be black and white, which means they rarely punish lawsuits that follow the rules. Even when it's clear to anyone else that the rules are being abused.
Meanwhile, also look up that law firm that sent you the letter and see what you can find out about them (e.g., are they even legit, what kind of other cases do they handle, etc).
And search for any information you can find about this other company and the people. What have they done? do they own property? What other businesses? Criminal records? etc. etc. etc.
Also gather all your own records - business formation, original site registration and registration history, logs of any marketing and advertising you have ever done, etc.. Anything that shows you actively using this trademark over time and as far back in time as you can establish.
Bring this data to your new specialist attny.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
>Are you in the same industry and compete with each other? If so, there might be an issue ... > as I was using the name 7+ years before them with a similar product Sounds like they are, but that the issue is in the reverse, they are trying to steal the authors market and product directly by using their name. This is very aggressive, not to mention wrong.
Hope to read a follow up post one day about how the end result of this letter is the company who sent the letter loses their trademark and domains.
I think it would cost a lot of money to invalidate a trademark, especially if the company that owns it has deep pockets and even a UDRP complaint can cost in the range of $5k from what I've read. I think that's why so many mediocre .coms sell in the $2-4k range. It's cheaper to pay the domain/trademark squatters for the guarantee of getting what you want than it is to (maybe) prove their registration was in bad faith.