When we first started up we thought we registered all 3 domain .com, .net, .org. But only .com was registered for some reason. Today while checking some things we noticed this. The problem is somebody registered .net on us. We registered the .org today to at least protect that. Is there any type of protection for this. I know if I registered microsoft.ws or something that MS would get it from me. Please let me know soon. I will be calling my lawyer on Monday to see what can be done in civil court if needed. Thanks in advance for any help.

ICANN is where you want to look.

http://www.icann.org/udrp/udrp.htm


However, before you go getting lawyers involved and going to great expense and heartache over this, try dropping an email to the guy that registered the domain. You can catch more flies with honey...

do unless you have your name officialy trade marked.
OR you are a well known National brand company like Ford, GM, Microsoft etc.

Good Luck

You probably have a case of 'common law trademark' if you used it first. The REAL problem in my opinion is that the .NET equivalent seems to be selling the same services, e.g. Unix Web Hosting. You can definitely pursuit legal action if you have the time and money.

My email to them:

Please release this domain name. We are a formed business and you are holding our company domain name. If no action is taken on your part within the next 72 hours we will have no choice but to pursue this matter further. Thank you for your cooperation.

Their reply:

Q: What have I done to break the law?
A: Nothing.

Q: Am I holding your domain name?
A. No. I purchased nixhosting.net on the open market just like any person
is capable of doing. Holding your domain name would insinuate that I'm
controlling the DNS for nixhosting.com and/or stole the rights to
nixhosting.com--neither of which I did. I wasn't even aware your company
existed. I did a whois one day on nixhosting.net and it was available, so I
seized the opportunity. If you are so concerned about your business you
would have bought the domain for $15.00 when you formed your business.

Q. Am I even in competition with your company?
A. Absolutely not! I own this domain and operate this domain for
educational purposes. Even if that were not the case that is not of my
concern.

I do not present the same services that you do in any way and my website
looks nothing like yours. Do not make empty threats against innocent people
as I've done NOTHING wrong. If you can produce some evidence in how I'm
breaking the law, then please let me know. Otherwise, DO NOT HARASS ME!

Regards,

nixhosting.net

New email I just sent (lets try the nice guy approach)

When we registered our domains we did sign up for .net and .org also. Today
we were notified that they didn't actually get registered. We went to
register them today and it said .net was taken. We registered the .org today
to try and save the company name. We have spoken with many people throughout
the day and were told since you are offering similar services that we do
have a case. Can we please settle this with no further problems? We will
reimburse you the one year fee you had paid for the domain. We will also pay
the transfer fees. Please understand that this is not a personal attack on
you but we are a formed company and are only trying to protect our company
name. We look forward to hearing from you. Thanks again for your time.

Originally posted by NixHosting
New email I just sent (lets try the nice guy approach)

When we registered our domains we did sign up for .net and .org also. Today
we were notified that they didn't actually get registered. We went to
register them today and it said .net was taken. We registered the .org today
to try and save the company name. We have spoken with many people throughout
the day and were told since you are offering similar services that we do
have a case. Can we please settle this with no further problems? We will
reimburse you the one year fee you had paid for the domain. We will also pay
the transfer fees. Please understand that this is not a personal attack on
you but we are a formed company and are only trying to protect our company
name. We look forward to hearing from you. Thanks again for your time.



You have no case. Threatening the guy wont help you. Just take it as a lesson learned. You're not a national brand nor are you a "major" webhost or company.

All the blame really falls on you. YOU should have double checked the day you signed up that you received noticed that you had purchased the domain name. You can't of "suddenly realized" that you didn't have it. You either did, or you didn't. And YOU didn't. Empty threats is correct. You have no case. No lawyer will be able to fight the person who LEGALLY owns that domain name. You did not register it.

Annie-Mei are you a lawyer?

In this country, anyone can sue anyone else about anything. And lawyers would take a case regardless.

Originally posted by timechange

In this country, anyone can sue anyone else about anything. And lawyers would take a case regardless.

Sure they can, but that doesn't mean they have a chance in hell of winning.

Annie-Mei is correct, the original poster has no case. The .net version of his domain name sat unclaimed for a full four months before the other guy came along and grabbed it. If it was so important to him, he never would have let that happen.

As you said, there are lawyers out there who would take the case however, and if nixhosting wants to throw his money away with some shyster that would have him believe he has a claim, he has every right to do so..

I do have sympathy for ther original poster, but ultimately it's his own fault that this happened.

Just one more example of why you should never, ever let a third party register your domain(s) for you!!!

-Bob

Funny TMX, your domain's .net and .org are still available :D

If he is set on the nixhosting name you could always trade him the .org for the .net. .org domains seem to have less intrinsic value than .net and .com domains. Your business will probably function perfectly fine without the org domain. See if you can convice your friend at nixhosting.net to trade. (I think he will hold a strong stand against you; your first email was a bit blunt)

Offer him $1,000 for the domain or sue him for the domain plus $1,000 :D

You could also offer to buy him another domain or, if he consents to the trade, you could offer hosting for his site.

I offered him a refund for the year he paid. Told him I would pay the transfer fee and buy him a new domain. He said no and asked for 500$. I just got off the phone with my attorney and he wil be filing paper work in the morning. I been speaking with the .net owner via AIM and after I got off the phone with my attorney I let him know that my attorney told me not to pay a dime. He then told me to hold on so we can settle this. I'm still on hold. I'm hoping he takes my original offer.

First of all you should not discuss this any further with him if you plan to seek a legal route.

Second, maybe you are willing to change your business name, I can sell you U9X.com and .net really cheap :D

LOL Sorry no can do. Actually just got through registering this name with the state and banks. DO NOT want to deal with that all again.

Ouch, that's a bummer. Well good luck and let us know of the outcome.

Originally posted by NixHosting
LOL Sorry no can do. Actually just got through registering this name with the state and banks. DO NOT want to deal with that all again.

If he refuses to comply,make the logical choise and persue the matter illegaly.

(scrap the nixhosting project and dedicate your domains to hosting sites that slander, flame, and spew forth wrath on the scourge that is nixhosting.net)

good luck with either route you take

... your Domain Registrar screwed up and this guy did nothing wrong.

I would tell him that you really need this name cause your company is bringing the food on your and your familys table and that you would buy him any domain he chooses and also a few buck per PayPal "for the trouble".

If I registered a domain name that is free and you cam along giving me "72 hours" before "you persue this further" then I would have sent you a reply with 100+ F-Words and a macro virus. ;)

Then again Robert, you know the true meaning of malakas ;)

Originally posted by NixHosting
I offered him a refund for the year he paid. Told him I would pay the transfer fee and buy him a new domain. He said no and asked for 500$. I just got off the phone with my attorney and he wil be filing paper work in the morning. I been speaking with the .net owner via AIM and after I got off the phone with my attorney I let him know that my attorney told me not to pay a dime. He then told me to hold on so we can settle this. I'm still on hold. I'm hoping he takes my original offer.

Well add everything up.. A lawyer is prob going to end up costing more than $500.00.. Personally I would pay it but again it is all up to you.

IANAL...

I would say there isn't much of a case (as others have said). Since you're not a major-name company with universal brand recognition, I'd say the name was up for grabs. Lets say that when you registered nixhosting.com there was already someone with nixhosting.to (or any of the other country TLDs - did you check them all?) - do you think they should be able to come by and take your nice new .com domain from you?

Regardless of the outcome I also think it's abuse of the judicial system to try and sue this guy for the name. He's not squatting and he did nothing wrong. It seems (at least to me) that you're just sore your registrar screwed things up. I do feel for you - it's a rotten situation - but throwing a trantrum and suing for something that doesn't seem to be yours any more than his might be the wrong approach.

Not to mention it's usually best to try the nice approach before the "I'm going to sue the pants off you" approach - otherwise you've already burned the bridge.

Dave

Originally posted by NixHosting
I offered him a refund for the year he paid. Told him I would pay the transfer fee and buy him a new domain. He said no and asked for 500$. I just got off the phone with my attorney and he wil be filing paper work in the morning. I been speaking with the .net owner via AIM and after I got off the phone with my attorney I let him know that my attorney told me not to pay a dime. He then told me to hold on so we can settle this. I'm still on hold. I'm hoping he takes my original offer.

Try looking at this from the other guy's perspective: he decides he's going to put up a web hosting site (just like you), and he comes up with a nifty name (just like you), so he goes to see if he can register it (just like you). Unlike you, he can't register the .com of that domain because you've already registered it. But he sees that the .net is still available -- all he knows is that no one's registered it. He doesn't know that you thought you had registered it, he doesn't know that you/your domain registrar screwed up -- he just knows it's available. So he registers it.

And now you're trying to sue him for it?

This guy has done nothing wrong. He has as legitimate of a claim to nixhosting.* as you do. He has a more legitimate claim to nixhosting.net than you do -- he owns it! The difference between you and Microsoft.ws (the example you mentioned in your first post in the thread) is that Microsoft has a trademark on their name filed with the USPTO. You don't (or at least you didn't say you did). If you did, then yes, you'd have a legitimate claim.

Suppose the shoe is on the other foot. Six months from now someone comes along and threatens to sue you, saying that he used to own nixhosting.com and his registrar screwed up and let the domain expire. How would you feel?

Also, from what I can tell from his web site, he's not even competing with you -- he's just giving himself and his buddies some free hosting.

Give the guy a break. It's understandable that you're angry that someone registered a domain name and you thought you had registered. But it's not understandable that you're angry at this person -- he's done nothing wrong! If you want to sue someone, sue whoever told you they would register the .org and .net extensions of your domain name -- they're the ones who screwed up.

amaroq-

Right on.

Originally posted by NixHosting I offered him a refund for the year he paid. Told him I would pay the transfer fee and buy him a new domain. He said no and asked for 500$. I just got off the phone with my attorney and he wil be filing paper work in the morning. I been speaking with the .net owner via AIM and after I got off the phone with my attorney I let him know that my attorney told me not to pay a dime. He then told me to hold on so we can settle this. I'm still on hold. I'm hoping he takes my original offer.

This is odd, why in the world woul you want to pay an attorney when you could simply give the guy the $500 he wants?

I am sure the attorney fees would be a lot more than $500., more likely $5,000 or more. He probably wants $500 just to mail a letter or two for you.

Even if you hire the lawyer, it will take a year or more in court and you likely will NOT win in the end (as you have a weak case) so why not simply pay the .net owner?

Originally posted by NixHosting I offered him a refund for the year he paid. Told him I would pay the transfer fee and buy him a new domain. He said no and asked for 500$. I just got off the phone with my attorney and he wil be filing paper work in the morning. I been speaking with the .net owner via AIM and after I got off the phone with my attorney I let him know that my attorney told me not to pay a dime. He then told me to hold on so we can settle this. I'm still on hold. I'm hoping he takes my original offer.

This is odd, why in the world would you want to pay an attorney when you could simply give the guy the $500 he wants?

Your attorney said don't pay a dime as he is the one who wants your money. I am sure the attorney fees would be a lot more than $500., more likely $5,000 or more. He probably wants $500 just to mail a letter or two for you.

Even if you hire the lawyer, it will take a year or more in court and you likely will NOT win so why not simply pay the .net owner?

because Cybersquatters = Spamers = :angry:

Internet would be a much better place if these ppl were not here

Angel... did you even read this thread? I wouldn't call the guy that owns the .net a cyber squatter at all.

Just be warned, if you sue him, and you loose, and he counter sues you for harassment and for legal fee's you could be looking at a very big bill. I myself find it very hard to believe that not once in that 4 month time did you ever type in the .net of your domain just to see if it was working or not. What’s even worse than that, is you didn't even find his site till a few days ago, which means SIX MONTHS went by before you noticed a thing. It sounds like to me someone forgot to register those domains (the .net and .org) and now is crying because someone else got them. I'm sorry but I could understand if it was only a few days that went by when you lost the domain, but six months before you noticed a thing, get real and pull your head outta your rear.

You have no case and by taking this person to court you stand to loose more money and waste a long time on this. I'd say $500 for the domain is pretty dang cheap if you ask me, compared to a year in court, a few thousand to the lawyer and a few more thousand to pay the other guys lawyer when the judge tells you that you have no case. When I formed my company I registered 16 domains and various variants of my companies name to protect its mark, you on the other hand registered one. I find it very odd that not once in 6 months did you ever try and type the .net or .org in of your domain.... I mean you DID have to set them up in the server and DNS right? It would be logical that you would TEST them right?

Geeze… Nothing more pisses me off than people whining about how their gunna sue over the stupidest of things.

How pathetic and the only people who get richer are the lawyers.

I'd suggest you forget about it. You have the .com. Over the last few years I have often typed .com when trying to browse to a non-.com site. Just force of habit I guess. But over those same years I have never, never, never, never typed .net or .org or .anything when it should have been .com. I don't think he is going to steal any of your clients through a mistake in typing. You, on the other hand, may end up with some of his traffic. I don't think it is a big deal for you. But then that is just my opinion.

And I would not pay him anything for the name. Let him keep it.

Give up :()

Its really not that important, you wont really loose anything by it. Just accept the fact that it got screwed up and move on. Its not related to you(the content) so its not going to thregten you.

I would just give him the $$ he wants or drop it. I knwo it's your company name and all, but heck I agree, i will mis-type with .com and NOT .net, .org, etc.
No matter what let us know what happens.

To claim tm ownership it's not necessary to register with the USPTO, FYI.

Angel... did you even read this thread? I wouldn't call the guy that owns the .net a cyber squatter at all.

I did, it was a reply to Realname's post, he wanted to know why he would rather spend 500 $ on lawyer than paying 500 $ for that domain name :)

Ok... just checking... in this situation a cyber squatter wouldn't apply since the person who has the .net domain was approached to sell it, he did not approach the owner of the .com and try and sell it to him. So in this case it'd be smarter to pay the person than the laweyr, and/or just forget about it.

Offer a reasonable amount, but in a more congenial manner. If you are turned down, then just let him keep it. And, hope he builds a very successful, well-trafficked site. Why? Because, many, many people will enter your .com and visit your site by accident. So, you get a little free promotion.

As a general rule, if I have the .com, I am not that concerned about the others. On the other hand, I do not purchase a .net unless I can also get the .com.

Originally posted by Angel78
because Cybersquatters = Spamers = :angry:

Internet would be a much better place if these ppl were not here

What the heck are you talking about? The .net owner clearly stated in his reply email that he WOULD NOT be selling hosting and that the site would be educational one. (Q. Am I even in competition with your company? A. Absolutely not! I own this domain and operate this domain for educational purposes. Even if that were not the case that is not of my concern. )

Originally posted by timechange
To claim tm ownership it's not necessary to register with the USPTO, FYI.

No ,it is not necessary to register with the USPTO to make trademark claims on a name or domain name. But you also have to PROVE that you have a legal right to it otherwise. He has had the domain name for less than 6 months, and unless he has registered it with the USPTO, than that isn't much time to make any legal trademark claims.

I agree with everybody else. The .net owner registered it legally and he has the right to use it. If you would have approchad him in a different way, the outcome might have been different.

Prior use establishes rights to the name. There is no 6 month requirement. Simply putting up a web site and/or conducting business under that name (and he mentioned he has established bank transactions under that name) establishes rights to the trade/service mark.

Originally posted by timechange
Prior use establishes rights to the name. There is no 6 month requirement. Simply putting up a web site and/or conducting business under that name (and he mentioned he has established bank transactions under that name) establishes rights to the trade/service mark.

I would strongly suggest you look into this issue before you continue to post about it. I have been in a domain battle for the past 6 months and it won't be over soon. It is based on the fact that the domain name was not trademarked and had been used for sometime over the Internet. I am pretty clear on the rules that are established around domain names and trademarks.

Believe me when I say, that just putting up a site today does not mean you (or anyone else) have legal rights to the NAME tomorrow, and this would include offline businesses as well. Firstly, that is why they have the trademark system in the first place. Secondly, trademark claims on a name are much harder than cut and paste. It takes hours of research to know the correct laws each case falls under or if it does at all, because each are unique.

You have to be "doing business as" for a certain period of time or well known with the name in order to make legal rights to it. And even that is very broad, because there are so much law that in involved to even decide what those legal statures are. It could be 1 month in one case and 2 years in another.

The post that we are discussing has nothing to do with trademarks. The .net owner is not going to be using the domain name to do anything remotely similar to the .com owner. The case is simple, the .com owner didn’t register it and somebody else did. He loses the domain name unless there is an agreement made between the current .com owner and .net owner.


Edit: Did I forget to metion that the .net owner will not be doing any business what so ever with the name domain name. So really what is the big deal?

All I said was that you don't have to have a federally registered trademark with the USPTO to establish rights to a trademark. A federally registered trademark is the absolute proof, but common law trademarks through the established use of the name before someone else did would still lead to the same result.

I do not believe that using a name or domain name before others gives you the legal right to take back a domain name that somebody else registered legally. If he wanted it, than he should have registered it and as others have posted, checked to make sure it was registered if it was that important.

And yes, you have a “more” likely chance of winning in a trademark battle if you used the name first, but that doesn’t mean you absolutely have more rights to it. That is why we have a court system to figure out each unique case. But again, in this case the person isn’t infringing on anybody’s trademark or rights, they registered the domain name legally.

I disagree, establishing a DBA - doing business as - is fair proof of a trademark. Registering a trademark makes things easier in times of a dispute. Simply providing a service or a product with certain characteristics and / or name automatically gives you the rights to the relevant mark. If you think otherwise, you are listening to the wrong attorney for the past 6 months :D

Again, since I have repeat myself. This post case has nothing to do with trademark. The person who owns the .net did not register it to sell hosting.

An agian, if the following was true:

Originally posted by timechange
I disagree, establishing a DBA - doing business as - is fair proof of a trademark.

Then why do we have so many cases on this excat subject. As I said again, and will repeat that is why we have a court system to figure out each unquie case.

timechange/littlest -

I know I'm getting off topic here - but it seems somewhat related and this is info that others might want to read...

IANAL, but I do know a little bit about the law (and how to search Google :) ). With regards to common law trademarks, there are a few reasons why that probably doesn't apply here. Firstly, every state has different rules for common law trademark claims. In almost every state, though, the trademark must be used properly in order to fall under common law. This includes the use of TM and "XYZ is a tradmark of ABC Company" statements. If these are not used, the mark is not considered a trademark under common law (how would anyone know not to use it?). Also - a trademark search was probably not conducted (which is a requirement) and there might be geographic trademark concerns with regards to the common law trademark in question.

For more information on the subject, go here:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/topics/trademark.html

or here:
http://www.advicetool.com/faq/16.html

Hope this settles that little question :)

-Dave