Napster wants my site because of trademark infringement

[montel]

I just got this in the mail about one of my 'napster of porn' sites. The irony of Napster sending emails about intellectual property infringments aside, can they actually do this? I have removed all reference to napster from the page.

seeya!
montel

----------------------------------------------------
Dear Domain Owner,

I am contacting you on behalf of Internet Identity?s client, Napster, LLC, regarding your ownership of the domain name [*removed*].com. Napster, LLC is the holder of the registered trademark ?Napster?. The domain name [*removed*].com is so closely related to the Napster trademark that your ownership and use of the name can cause confusion for Napster customers and others.

We respectfully request that you transfer the ownership and control of the domain [*removed*].com to Napster, LLC. Napster is willing to compensate you for your purchase cost for the remaining registration period for the domain, as well as any fees charged to you by your registrar or the registry for the transfer. Napster, LLC otherwise reserves all legal rights to take further action if necessary.

Please respond to let me know if you agree to the transfer. We can then arrange the details for the transfer.

Thank you.

Regards,
Lars Harvey
________________
Lars Harvey
Director of Customer Relations
Internet Identity
-----------------------------------------------

[wargames]

whats the domain name ?

[SpaceAce]

"I respectfully request that you offer me a bit more than the registration fee. Then we'll talk."

They have other problems.

SpaceAce

[PiksalDesign]

http://absolute-series-xxx.com/01/freeview.html ?

Originally posted by PiksalDesign
http://absolute-series-xxx.com/01/freeview.html ?

Now that is some serious infringement all across the board! Ripping off a logo is some serious shit in itself!

[montel]

Apologies, unable to post full my domain in this forum. The domain is napster****.com. It no longer contains any reference to napster apart from the letters at the start of the domain. Sites linking to this domain DO promote the site as teh napster of porn.

[eatapeach]

you can just ignore them until they go bankrupt again

[rebel23]

if the domain has the term napster then you really are fucked if they wanted it

[JDog]

Originally posted by shermsshack


Now that is some serious infringement all across the board! Ripping off a logo is some serious shit in itself!

Always was wondering if they would get any emails... Looks like they finally did!

jDoG

[JDog]

Originally posted by montel
Apologies, unable to post full my domain in this forum. The domain is napster****.com. It no longer contains any reference to napster apart from the letters at the start of the domain. Sites linking to this domain DO promote the site as teh napster of porn.

you're fucked, if they want the domain they can take it! That's why you DON'T use any trademark names Easy enough lesson?

jDoG

[montel]

how exactly do they take the domain name?

[JDog]

Originally posted by montel
how exactly do they take the domain name?

Sue you!

jDoG

[nosey]

Originally posted by JDog


you're fucked, if they want the domain they can take it! That's why you DON'T use any trademark names Easy enough lesson?

jDoG

yeah, do what they say

[nosey]

Originally posted by JDog


Sue you!

jDoG

they will start @ $100,000

[montel]

is there precedent for this? have other cases been successfully prosecuted to the tune of 100k?

If you have their TM in your domain, you can pretty much just hand it over to them. They have more than enough money to snatch it from you by any means possible.

[KRL]

If your domain has Napster in it, they have the legal right to get your domain.

I wouldn't get hostile over it. If they sue you to get it they could end up forcing you to pay them the money you've made off of their trademark also.

[Mr.Fiction]

The court also has barred the defendant from participating in advertising affiliate programs on the Internet, and has ordered him to give up more than $1.8 million in ill-gotten gains.

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2002/05/cupcake.htm

Federal law enforcement officers arrested a man Wednesday for allegedly creating misleading domain names to deceive children and direct them to pornographic Web sites.

John Zuccarini's arrest marks the first to be made under the Truth in Domain Names Act, which took effect in April and prohibits people from creating misleading domain names as a means to deceive children into viewing content that's harmful to minors, or tricking adults into clicking on obscene Web sites.

http://news.com.com/2100-1025-5071133.html

You can go to jail if you piss off the wrong people.

[montel]

surely i can have legitimate use for the term 'napster'. like if my name is napster, or if the term napster has meaning to my business independent of their company?

[Dawgy]

ive wondered about this for wut... 2 years now.... theres been at least 1 'napster of porn' gallery on the hun for months... years... yet no one has ever been sued? lol

[Dawgy]

Originally posted by montel
surely i can have legitimate use for the term 'napster'. like if my name is napster, or if the term napster has meaning to my business independent of their company?

lol youre reaching.

[Digipimp]

Oh yeah and if you tell them you specifically want more money for the domain than a registration fee they'll hit you for domain squatting on them when they sue your ass. Just prepare a good explanation of the money you've put into and that you don't wish to infringe on them now that they are back in business and the total compensation you need is for time, money invested bla bla bla but don't just say alright give me $5000 for the domain or you're fucked.

[SomeCreep]

The domain is probably something like xxxnapster.com or napster-porn.com.

Seriously...Give it up and just be happy that you've made the money that you have from it. If you resist, they may try and take that as well.

[montel]

I am not comfortable making any response to them. I do not live in the US anyhow.

[basschick]

but your name ISN'T napster, plus you're using their well-known logo - and you're breaking the law.

[KRL]

Originally posted by montel
surely i can have legitimate use for the term 'napster'. like if my name is napster, or if the term napster has meaning to my business independent of their company?

No your name is not napster and it has no meaning to your business other than to use the goodwill of the Napster brand for your own personal gain.

[Digipimp]

Ahhh if you don't live in the US then fuck'em

[pussyluver]

Sorry, but you're not in the best position on this one (Not an attorney). The good news is at least they were polite! Maybe they'll throw you a bone? I'd be polite back if I were you and try to get what ya can.

If your site is making a fair amount of $$$, contact a lawyer and see what the options are. I bet that lawyer won't have good news. Maybe a lawyer calling them or writing them back might get you more for the site name.

Yep you guys would win, but your attorney fees would be significant generate ill will - then make a $ offer.

I've seen your tag line, wondered if this would ever come up... I bet it worked well for awhile though.

Good luck with it.

[pussyluver]

Originally posted by Digipimp
Ahhh if you don't live in the US then fuck'em

Its a .com - controlled in the US I believe. So one could lose even if they didn't show up in court... I

Who's the registra? A US company? If not, that adds a level of complication.

[montel]

the registrar is godaddy. hypothetically, this could move overseas quickly.

[Digipimp]

Originally posted by montel
the registrar is godaddy. hypothetically, this could move overseas quickly.

Put that bitch on a russian registrar

[Connor]

If they want your domain name then they'll get it. I agree with those who say you should just give it up and chalk it up to experience. Even if you don't live in the US, they could still go to ICANN for a resolution.

[Dawgy]

Originally posted by KRL
No your name is not napster and it has no meaning to your business other than to use the goodwill of the Napster brand for your own personal gain.

mhmm.

if you setup hunporn.com or shempporn.com you wouldnt have lasted a day. borderline hypocracy for anyone who thinks what youre doing is legal & ethical. using napsters name might be brilliant in one sense, in that consumers know what it is and go for it, but in the end, its pretty much gonna bite u in the ass.

but then again, like u said, youre not in the US. lol

[Fluid of Fuck Me]

Umm..lets understand something here.
It's trademarked.
Trademark law doesn't require precident. That's like asking if there's precident for a murder conviction.
Suing for trademark infringement isn't new. It's done all the time and companies get fucked all the time. Look up mc donald's track record. Think sony has a long one as well.

Doesn't matter where you live, that domain is gone. ICAN has to follow court rulings, and if they go get a court order to stop you from using that name, it won't resolve anymore. No matter where it's registared. It falls off DNS records.

And if you ignore all this, I wouldn't plan on visiting the states anytime soon (like 5-10 yrs.) cause you'll have problems. Possibly criminal if you try to avoid court orders, or orders to appear.

[swingerman]

montel, all I can say is: this is serious!
you have no chance in court. and they will take you to court if you don't cooperate.
with napster-of-porn you are using their brand name. it's obvious that you are using their name to compare your service with the original napster. and using their logo (now or in the past) is also very, very, very bad.

you can be more than happy that they are so kind and even pay the expenses of transferring the domain name.
you have no leg to stand on. you commercially used their name and made money off of it. accept that you got caught now.

don't just ignore them!!! if you're still unsure what to do, ASK YOUR LAWYER!

[chodadog]

Give up the domain. Then register the kazaa equivalent of your domain name and re-open shop.

[Gemini]

Your *only* real hope is... email them back and ask them for a scanned copy of their originally filed trademark, both in the US as well as their International one. (They have to have an International in most cases if you are outside the US) Also respectfully ask for the URL to their online docs at the UPTO. Explain that you are just verifying their claim to satisfy your accountant and attorneys advice.

NEVER hand over a domain just on a request. You do have every legal right to verify anything anyone tells you in this regard.

Then prey that they didn't get their trademark until *after* your domain was purchased. IF that is the case then they'd have a real hard time taking it. If they do, you are basically screwed.

But in any case, they either HAVE to enforce the trademark against you or lose the right to even own it.

[Jer]

Transfer that domain quick to them. You knew this would happen.

[johnbosh]

Hmm, saw some napster of porn sites lately, wondered of it was legal:p

[montel]

Originally posted by Gemini
Your *only* real hope is... email them back and ask them for a scanned copy of their originally filed trademark, both in the US as well as their International one. (They have to have an International in most cases if you are outside the US) Also respectfully ask for the URL to their online docs at the UPTO. Explain that you are just verifying their claim to satisfy your accountant and attorneys advice.

NEVER hand over a domain just on a request. You do have every legal right to verify anything anyone tells you in this regard.

Then prey that they didn't get their trademark until *after* your domain was purchased. IF that is the case then they'd have a real hard time taking it. If they do, you are basically screwed.

But in any case, they either HAVE to enforce the trademark against you or lose the right to even own it.

Ok, I just got the reply now. Note that Roxio is Napster's parent company and Internet Identity is a private company that has been hired by Roxio.

"Attached please find the trademark registration for the "Napster" trademark, as well as a letter authorizing Internet Identity to perform the domain transfer on behalf of Roxio'(Napster's parent company).

Please reply to confirm that we can proceed with the transfer.

Thank you.

Regards,

Lars Harvey"

The Napster Trademark document says:
- Napster is Reg. No. 2,575,170
- Napster was regsitered on June 4 2002 (6 months AFTER my domain was purchased in December 2001)
- First use 6-0-1999 and In commerce 6-0-1999

Furthermore, the trademark was only placed in the hands of the new company (Roxio) in July 2003.

So when does the trademark date from- "June 4 2002" or "6-0-1999"? Am I saved because my domain was registered in December 2001?

[GTS Mark]

Originally posted by KRL
If your domain has Napster in it, they have the legal right to get your domain.

I wouldn't get hostile over it. If they sue you to get it they could end up forcing you to pay them the money you've made off of their trademark also.

Yup KRL nailed that one on the head.

DH

[ldinternet]

Originally posted by eatapeach
you can just ignore them until they go bankrupt again

ahahaha, brilliant.

[baddog]

Originally posted by montel
is there precedent for this? have other cases been successfully prosecuted to the tune of 100k?

yes, this is a battle you will not win. say sorry and back away slowly from the domain

[Gemini]

Go to http://www.uspto.gov and look up those trademark ID numbers... when you find the docs, if they aqpplied before you bought the domiain you're basically out of luck.

If they applied AFTER you bought it, then call an attorney. You don't have to turn it over. Unless there is something that has changed since the last time I read a news article on this.

Its basically a first come first serve... so if you are in possession BEFROE they do a TM, then they are outta luck. But I'm pretty sure the TM stands from the application date, not the approval date.

Now for that help, I don't want to see another napster of porn spam, mmmK? ;-)

[Mlin2]

Regards,
Lars Harvey
________________
Lars Harvey
Director of Customer Relations
Internet Identity
-----------------------------------------------

This is not an attorney.
No phone number whatsoever, this could be a somone trying to get your domains for free and send it's traffic to sponsors

Change whois so it reflects Mailing address in Russia or somehwere in the 3rd world country, they can do nothing then as there is no such a TM as "Napster" in those countries.

[jennym]

Napster Filing Date: 2000-06-28

May as well hand it over nicely.

[Mlin2]

Wrere did email come from? @hotmail.com ?

[montel]

Originally posted by Gemini
Go to http://www.uspto.gov and look up those trademark ID numbers... when you find the docs, if they aqpplied before you bought the domiain you're basically out of luck.

If they applied AFTER you bought it, then call an attorney. You don't have to turn it over. Unless there is something that has changed since the last time I read a news article on this.

Its basically a first come first serve... so if you are in possession BEFROE they do a TM, then they are outta luck. But I'm pretty sure the TM stands from the application date, not the approval date.

Now for that help, I don't want to see another napster of porn spam, mmmK? ;-)

Napster Trademark:
Serial Number 75981245
Filing Date June 28, 2000
Published for Opposition March 12, 2002
Registration Date June 4, 2002

My domain was:
Created on: 27-Dec-01

Do they take the date from the filing date or the date of registration?

[Gemini]

Glad to see GFY is in fine idiot form as usual. International TM's stand. It might be harder to gain the domain but ICANN will just pull the plug so have it they would.

Kids. Who lets em up this late?!?!?