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Do not enterain any offers. If they reach out, it is best to completly ignore and do not respond. Failing that, tell them it is your name, and your name is not for sale at any price.
If they ever try to take you to court, point the judge to nissan.com which is owned by someone with the name Nissan, and even the large car manufacturer did not have the right to take it.
You can't use the domain name for the same activity (the same Nice class https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_(Nice)_Classific...) as the company with the same name that has a trademark for the same activity class.
If you follow this rule no company will be able to contest your domain name.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Your advice in how to protect their domain name is be willing to sell it and don’t bother putting up a fight…?
When it comes to registered trademarks, yes. I can't call myself Coke or Pepsi either. Don't confront them to offer them anything, let them come to you.
Trademarks dont mean you own a word, they mean that the use of that word is to be protected from passing-off/impersonation (intentional or otherwise).
So by all means call yourself Coke - just dont market yourself as a soft-drink (or whatever other categories the mark is held and/or defended in).
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‘Their name’ If it’s your family name, what can they do but bleed you in legal costs? It depends on the country maybe, but I would not part with that domain in my country if it’s my family name and registered ages ago (clearly not to try to blackmail that company). Not sure anyone should. Horrible advice.
Why spend the money defending a $5 domain name, especially when you're not making any money by having it? It's just a name, and if you're not a registered company, you're going to be seen as a squatter no matter what. All I'm suggesting is to be prepared to have the domain ownership contested and have a backup if you have to change domains.
You might want to consider registering a trademark on that name if at all possible. Even if you can't register the 5 letter name itself, register something else like "iname widget". it should bolster your defence if it ever came to it.
I would keep it as far away from anything business-like as possible.
I don't care if they printed out my domain on a car print or a card or something that they give out. That's not my problem.
The thing is, companies can (at least under some TLD's) claim domain names. But this claim has to be tested. And the test that I'm aware that exists is kinda if you have some kind of claim to it as well. It may that you own a business with that name, but it's also claim enough that you have that name as your name. Then your claim is valid and you had it first.
I'm not sure how it works with .com, but I wouldn't think they are very different.
In whois records I've seen something called registry lock, may be worth for you to look into that: https://internetstiftelsen.se/en/domains/tech-tools/registry...
To prevent domain hijacking: Tip 1: Pick an enterprise-class domain name registry. Tip 2: Set up 2FA that isn't phone-based. Tip 3: Request DNSSEC from your registrar.
I don’t understand, what’s the emotional attachment? Put the domain up for sale and hire a broker, the money could be life changing for you.
Some basic rules if you wish to keep the domain:
* Don't offer to sell the domain. If you are contacted by a prospective buyer, just decline, saying that the domain is not for sale. Don't counter-offer or enter into discussions or negotiations.
* Don't put ads or links to third-party commercial entities on your website. If you're going to use it for business purposes, make sure that it's just for your business, which incorprates your family name, eg FamilyName IT Services Ltd.
* Make sure your website has an "About Me/Us" page, which briefly outlines who you are, ensuring that you mention that your Family Name is the same as the domain name.
* The advice in this thread regarding use of 2FA on everything is sound. I've a high value domain portfolio and receive password reset requests every week, triggered by bad actors trying to access anything that they can think of that might give them access to accounts.
* Don't use GoDaddy or any or their network.
* Read up on UDRP (dispute resolution) and Reverse Name Hijacking if you want to get up to speed on the legal and procedural issues that might affect you.
* Domain disputes are a specialised field and you would need the advice of a specialised lawyer if you find yourself the recipient of a UDRP complaint. John Berryhill (I've no connection) is well regarded in this area, and I'm sure that there are others. He would be my first port of call.
You might want to consider registering a trademark on that name if at all possible. Even if you can't register the 5 letter name itself, register something else like "iname widget". it should bolster your defence if it ever came to it.
I wouldn't do that. A trademark might be lost due to that company being the first one to trade under that name, and part of that might be the court forcing the person owning the domain to transfer the domain name. If there's no trademark and there's no business at that domain there's no way to sue for trademark infringement. I would keep it as far away from anything business-like as possible.
It is worth noting that for a trademark to be enforceable it has to be in use, at least in the US. So if you're not going to use it in any way, then yeah it has no value.
But if you are going to use that trademark then it can give you an awful lot of protection. Note that defense of a trademark is usually around if there is potential for confusion. Say the trademark is the name of a medicine and your trademark includes that name but you sell luggage, the phamaceutical company doesn't really have a claim against you because they don't operate in that area and there's no potential confusion. If you want to sell first aid kits however that might be a problem.
Without a trademark, you may still face a company who does have a trademark.