Legal Question in Technology Law in Virginia

Domain Name Forwarding

These are fictional names, but it's a real problem for me. I have a business, let's call it Grey Wolf Antiques, which has been around for a few years. When I registered my web site, I only registered greywolfantiques dot com. I had several clients send emails to graywolfantiques dot com (with an ''a'') by mistake. I decided to register this name as well, but found that a local competitor, let's call them YYY's Old Things, had already registered the name (just a month ago). When people enter that web address, they are forwarded to their web site.

Is this a legal practice? It's one thing when people choose them over us, but it seems that YYY's Old Things is also trying to take some of the people choosing us over them.

Thanks for any input.


Asked on 5/26/07, 12:19 am

4 Answers from Attorneys

Lee Kim Tucker Arensberg, P.C.

Re: Domain Name Forwarding

Legal issues such as unfair competition, trademark infringement, and trade diversion may be relevant here; ICANN-relevant issues such as typosquatting may also be present.

You may wish to contact an attorney who may advise you on the merits of writing a cease-and-desist letter. You may consider doing this prior to the domain name dispute route, as it costs about $1,300-$1,500 for a single panelist using the National Arbitration Forum or WIPO.

To the extent that your case may involve issues of state law (in this case, Virginia), you may wish to consider contacting local counsel.

Best of luck.

Lee

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Answered on 5/27/07, 6:41 pm
Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

Re: Domain Name Forwarding

I doubt that the problem which you've described is one for the law to solve.

It would seem to belong more to the rules and regulations laid down by the registrar of the domain names involved with the registration of your website and that of your competitor which may have to be looked to in order to resolve it.

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Answered on 5/26/07, 7:51 am
Bernard Dietz Law Offices of Bernard C. Dietz, PC

Re: Domain Name Forwarding

You may be able to take this domain name away from your competitor under the UDRP (Uniform Domain Name Resolution Policy) arbitration process, depending on the specific facts of your case, because this sounds like typosquatting. Do you have a registered trademark in your store name? You don't necessarily have to have a registration to win but it alters the strategy here. I have handled many of these types of cases. Check out my website for more info - www.internet-legal.com/domains.htm - and contact me if you would like my help.

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Answered on 5/26/07, 8:10 am
Michael Stewart Michael D. Stewart

Re: Domain Name Forwarding

You can access my website at www.michaelstewartlaw.com which has an article on domain name dispute resolution. This may be appropriate in your situation.

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Answered on 5/26/07, 9:22 am


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