Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California
domain name
I own a very popular domain name. I get 1000s of hits every week. The domain name is similar to the domain name for a well known european band with presence in the U.S. This band has sold 200 million albums. The spelling of the band's name in Europe is with an ''I'' and in the U.S. with a ''y''. so when American's spell the name, my web site pops up. I want to do something with this web site but I have been told I could get sued if I were to bring it live. All I have now is a counter, my phone number and a sign that says for sale or barter. I wrote a letter to their management company offering to sell the domain name with no luck. I get offers from other bands that want me to rent or link to their web site for a fee...Iwas wondering what it is that I can do or can't do. I don't want to break any domestic or international laws but I know I should be able to make some money by all the hits I get on my web page. Any suggestions?
4 Answers from Attorneys
Re: domain name
If you can have a licensing agreement with them your operation will be legitimate. Will they come to the table?
Re: domain name
You should be able to sell the domain name, try ebay, afternic, or sedo. Go to some domaining sites (e.g. domainmagazine, dailydomainer, or dnforum) for more info. In the meantime, park the page with a parking provider that doesn't charge upfront and will pay you for every hit, e.g. namedrive. Worry about claims and lawsuits when and if they happen.
Re: domain name
Mr. Stone has posted many very good responses on this site, but I much disagree with him on this one.
If your domain infringes on a trademark and you offer to sell it (especially to the trademark holder), then you have already focused their attention on you and fulfilled one of the key elements required to let them have a $100,000 penalty applied to you under federal statute. So your risk in holding on to the domain has greatly increased. These types of domains are sold all the time, but they don't bring the high value you might imagine because of the fact that they don't generate as much traffic as generic domains and they are illegal for anyone other than the associated trademark hold to use under federal statues and statutes in several states. That doesn't mean that you can't make money off of them and probably get away with it (particularly if you haven't offered to sell it to the trademark holder), but it is why I set up the only company I know of that serves registrants like yourself and tries to let you make money off of these types of domains legally.
So you can roll the dice and make money and hope you don't get sued (because you would lose), sell the domain for as much as you can get and then forget about it, or go to my company and have a chance to make money off of it for a long time. There are other ways to use your domain legally, but they don't involve you making money.
If you want to know more, this is one of my main practice areas.
Re: domain name
Another possible use for the site is to actually build a fan-site for the band in question. If you start a blog or post positive information, reviews, etc., the band is unlikely to take action against you.
If you try to profit commercially from using the band-name, however, you may have some exposure... so be careful.
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
