Got an email from a domain owner...

[DigitalSkyline]

I'm sure your attorney knows more then I do on the subject. I know having documentation from the copyright office would help in court as it's considered proof of ownership, I don't know I never went that far to protect my interests. I have done a ton of reading on the subject (including the law itself) because I was considering pusuring action against a client gone bad and it was my understanding it is not required to file to be protected under the law. Think about the billions of documents that would need to be filed, its an exercise in futility to try and document everything that is copyrightable under the law.

Maybe it is required for actual litigation, I suppose thats why lawyers get the big bucks.

[jimhnet]

Originally Posted by mresell

I think under these circumstances nothing will ever come of it. A single letter is a single letter. So proving trademark would be difficult. Also lose of revenue etc.. would be near impossible.

The key phrase is loss of revenue, which presupposes that the revenue stream already exists. Otherwise its a proforma(projected revenue) which is somebodys best guess and extremely difficult to establish a basis for damages in court.

Jim

[sheptech]

Two observations:
1. Your Trademark Attorney has a clear conflict of interest in giving you that advice (even of they're a member of the family) as that's how they make their living. I've filed trademarks without the assistance (expense) of such legal talent so don't really understand why you'd want to use a lawyer for something as straight-forward as filling out an application online.

2. It'll cost someone thousands of dollars even to go the arbitration route to get you to give up the domain name anyhow. If they look like a little fish you might just consider ignoring them.

Just thinking out loud here.
-john

edit: I'll concede that an attorney with experience in trademark law would be handy in the case of protecting your rights should you need to litigate or are targeted by litigation.

[kattouf]

From copyright.gov

When is my work protected?
Your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.

Do I have to register with your office to be protected?
No. In general, registration is voluntary. Copyright exists from the moment the work is created. You will have to register, however, if you wish to bring a lawsuit for infringement of a U.S. work. See Circular 1, Copyright Basics, section “Copyright Registration.”

[DigitalSkyline]

Way to sumarize it all up

[admin]

Originally Posted by kattouf

From copyright.gov

You will have to register, however, if you wish to bring a lawsuit for infringement of a U.S. work. See Circular 1, Copyright Basics, section “Copyright Registration.”

That is what Vixen was saying all long.. LoL If you plan to go past a letter you will need to have the copy right registered.

[Vixen]

Originally Posted by John Schlosser

Two observations:
1. Your Trademark Attorney has a clear conflict of interest in giving you that advice (even of they're a member of the family) as that's how they make their living. I've filed trademarks without the assistance (expense) of such legal talent so don't really understand why you'd want to use a lawyer for something as straight-forward as filling out an application online.

What conflict of interest could our attorney have in giving us legal advice that we asked for?? I am lost as to your logic.

I believe you are confused with filing a copyright and a trademark. A trademark requires a thorough search BEFORE it can ever be filed to make sure that no one else has applied for the exact same trademark that you are going to file for. The entire process can take 6 months or longer and is far more complex than a simple online form. A copyright is much simpler and quicker however, we prefer to let a knowledgable professional take care of it all at the same time to make sure our interests are entirely covered.

[Vixen]

Originally Posted by kattouf

From copyright.gov
Do I have to register with your office to be protected?
No. In general, registration is voluntary. Copyright exists from the moment the work is created. You will have to register, however, if you wish to bring a lawsuit for infringement of a U.S. work. See Circular 1, Copyright Basics, section “Copyright Registration.”

I do believe I said at least twice that if you wanted to be able to issue a legal cease & decist and/or bring a lawsuit for infringement that the copyright had to be registered, which is exactly what you copied and pasted above. Thanks for making the same point I have been trying to make all day.

[dpyers]

Originally Posted by John Schlosser

Your Trademark Attorney has a clear conflict of interest in giving you that advice

That's kind of a strange assertion. With that thought, a lawyer has a conflict of interest if he advises you to plead innocent, advises that he review a contract or a patent, handles the paperwork for registering the deed to your house, or tells you to fight a law suit. Nothing there that won't incurr additional fees for him and that you can't do yourself.

In the US at least, there are standards and ethics bodies (bar associations) in each state that require a layer to act in their clients best interests of be forbidden to practice law. The court system also has similar requirements and punishments. It is in the lawyers and the courts best interest to ensure that the attorney-client relationship is for the benefit of the client. YMMV.

[dpyers]

To the OP: One of the things you can't trademark is words that are in common use - such as burger. I could probably trademark donburger, but not welldoneburger. You may want to google for similar uses of the wordforms you and he are using.

[Brangwyn]

Unless your Microsoft of course .. though they are facing a few issues there too

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1076428297954

[mresell]

Vixen is def right. Trademarks need an attorney I have dealt w/ several situations where legal issues came up after a search was done for a name.
Yeah with M$ they think they own the word windows. crazy. Then they go after lindows. Intel couldn't do it w/ numbers and gateway w/ a cow. Totally nuts that they think they can "own" the english language. Didn't trump get a copyright or was it a trademark w/ "your fired"? All that is very gray area tho. However, if you got money you can put people thru the wringer.

[nightfall]

Hi Brian,

Sorry to hear about your problem.
But I won't shake in my boots yet if I were you.

Firstly, you need to check where is he exactly, different country have different laws governing the use of domain names and their rights.

Secondly there is already an avenue to resolve domain disputes, you can read it here : http://www.icann.org/udrp/udrp.htm

A short description shows :
"All registrars in the .biz, .com, .info, .name, .net, and .org top-level domains follow the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (often referred to as the "UDRP"). Under the policy, most types of trademark-based domain-name disputes must be resolved by agreement, court action, or arbitration before a registrar will cancel, suspend, or transfer a domain name. Disputes alleged to arise from abusive registrations of domain names (for example, cybersquatting) may be addressed by expedited administrative proceedings that the holder of trademark rights initiates by filing a complaint with an approved dispute-resolution service provider.

To invoke the policy, a trademark owner should either (a) file a complaint in a court of proper jurisdiction against the domain-name holder (or where appropriate an in-rem action concerning the domain name) or (b) in cases of abusive registration submit a complaint to an approved dispute-resolution service provider. "

If the name you are using is trademarked which is unlikely (since his website is not even up) he can take action, but action costs money, and it won't cause you a cent to wait for a letter from his lawers because in their letter of intent to sue, they will give you reasonable time to make amends.

Not to worry too much..

Good Luck!

[nabsUK]

I know that in the UK all you need do to protect your work is put together a package containing all the original designs/layouts/artwork or copy and mail it to yourself as Registered post. This can be used as evidence in court of copyright ownership and when the copyright was established.

Just my 2 cents/pennies.

Nabil

[Vantage]

Originally Posted by DigitalSkyline

The DMCA clearly states you DO NOT have to file for a copyright, all digital works are automatically copyrighted unless stated otherwise (in writing) by the owner/creator. I've read it front to back, no where is it required that you file with the copyright office to claim legal ownership... of course if you plan to be in court, its nice to have as evidence but it isnt a requirement.

Unless you waive your rights in writing you own every single photo you take, every writen paragraph, every graphic design you create and every peice of code you write.

While this is true for the content of the site, this is NOT true for the domain name and/or the company name as well as the logo art. Anyone that has had this name as a corperate/business name prior to you registering the domain may be able to win such a case in court.


Get it TradeMarked and CopyWritten!!!
Run and do it NOW!!

Then this guy has no power, Until then if he wants to spend the $$ he can (Maybe) win.