Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 293 posts

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

#51

Post by hn_throwaway_69 »

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 into capitulation.

These heavy handed tactics are just dreadful and shouldn't be accepted in any rational legal system.

To avoid doubt, I'm not saying that their claim doesn't have merit. Unfortunately you will need to pay a lawyer to find out.

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

#52

Post by CuriousCosmic »

oauea wrote: post #24
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.

> and I'm speaking as an actual licensed attorney. and so the racket continues

This is the equivalent of a doctor saying "if you think you have cancer, don't blindly listen to the internet and consult a doctor and I say that as a licensed medical professional".

This isn't someone trying to rope someone into a racket for their own gain, it's "Our laws and legal system are a clusterfuck that varies wildly from region to region. Get a free (or at least cheap) consult instead of taking a risk trying to navigate this yourself".

There is no situation in which it is worthwhile to take the risk to try and navigate that clusterfuck yourself. Spend the 50USD or so and the hour of your time it'll cost at most to get a consult and go from there. At best you can get something out of this whole interaction but at worst if you don't consult a lawyer you can end up without the domain, without any money from selling the domain, and saddled with legal fees defending a lawsuit against you.

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

#53

Post by ksec »

gumby wrote: post #14

As you said "solicitor" I'm guessing you're not in the USA. If you are in the USA, the law is on your side: just because they registered the mark doesn't take away your rights. In addition, if they are doing something different from you (or perhaps you're using the domain for non-business purposes) they have no claim. You can open McDonald's garden shop (even if your name isn't McDonald) and unless you made it look l…

>As you said "solicitor" I'm guessing you're not in the USA.

But then they use Pacific Time Zone.

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

#54

Post by hedora »

harryvederci wrote: post #46
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.

You can add a layer in between: there are countries with a governmental institution[0] where you can go to for basic legal advice. They may point you to an attorney if needed, but for basic things they can give you advice themselves. [0] Dutch example: "Het Juridisch Loket"

In the US, you can call your local bar association. They’ll generally find an appropriate lawyer, and charge a small amount for the initial consult/matchmaking.

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

#55

Post by nicbou »

prepend wrote: post #42
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.

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".

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

#56

Post by ArtTimeInvestor »

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.

Bullshit.

Knowing your rights, reading the law and discussing it is a perfectly fine thing to do for everybody.

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

#57

Post by otterley »

dylan604 wrote: post #44
codingdave wrote: post #4

Opening a dialogue about this would have been the professional approach. Blasting you with a long list of demands means they are trying to bully you. Cease and desist letters are just a way of trying to scare you into doing what they want so they don't need to do things the hard way. I'd recommend asking a lawyer if they have a case to make against you, just to be safe. But if they don't, this letter means nothing.

And their 3 day demand is total horseshit of a play as well. You have done the research, and feel they do not have in-house representation. It is done on a Friday, so 2 of the 3 days is weekend. Finding a lawyer in 3 days is not simple, and doing it with 2 of the 3 being a weekend when a lawyer is impossible to find is just bullying 101. Fuck people like this. I feel bad for the Op, but sadly, I am jaded by the BS ga…

Three business days. The demand letter requests a response by December 15, which is a Wednesday.

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

#58

Post by masklinn »

jeremyjh wrote: post #41
nprateem wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd love to know what that means in plain English especially since the trademark has already been granted.

Acquiring a trademark just sets a floor for when you acquired the trademark, it doesn't mean someone else hasn't already acquired it - that is a question that courts have to settle.

> it doesn't mean someone else hasn't already acquired it

It goes further than that: trademarks are registered in 45 different classes and trademarks of different classes are completely independent, but the USPTO goes by

> "Trademark, same name, same class”

meaning more than one entity can register the same trademark name in the same class, because trademarks have a requirement of distinctiveness.

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

#60

Post by amluto »

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…

> Use opsec for phone numbers, call them at terrible hours ( at home) to discuss offers of payment.

IANAL, but if your goal is to give the them additional grounds for suing you, you may be off to a good start.

Post reply on HN