Letter of Cease and Desist - please provide your advice
- Thread starter AudienceSnipe
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I feel that there is no real grounds for this C & D against you. I would just not reply or get some legal advice incase they were actually going to pursue it, I don't see them going through all the cost to do so. The $15k seem outlandish in the first part becasue of the extreame difference in the url's. I would make them have to come get you over it and try to prove this one in court if they did. Don't think they got a real strong suit on you. Sounds like a company needing some money trying to chase it out of a little guy.
IP lawyers send out C&D letters as a matter of course and charge clients $500/hr. plus staff time to do so. In return, most of the people (esp. web merchants/ webmasters/ domainers etc.) immediately revert their domain names and capitulate. All they do is send a letter, but the loaded implication of boku attorney time is enough for most sole proprietors/ small businesses to roll over and play dead.
Check out law guru first. Then consult an IP attorney on the phone before submitting a retainer. Talk to someone who has dealt with domain issues and trademark infringement. Not all IP lawyers are created equally. A patent attorney won't do you any more good than an estate attorney in this case. Search for terms like "boutique" in the title- this means all they do is IP, and they are probably very good at it, very cost-effective and because they are smaller, they have a lot less overhead (e.g. they are cheaper).
After that, if you find someone worthy and feel fiesty (or have some cash to throw around), have the attorney send them a letter back and tell them that there is no trademark issue at hand (their legal argument is wrought with holes) as you are performing an entirely different function and are not actively marketing so there is no likelihood of confusion among a similar audience.
I'd take down my site (since it's not making you money anyway, right?) but there is no way on earth that I'd pay $15k for anything. That's a bunch of horseshit, and I'd ask- specifically, where they came up with that figure.
Dollars to donuts it's arbitrary.
Check out law guru first. Then consult an IP attorney on the phone before submitting a retainer. Talk to someone who has dealt with domain issues and trademark infringement. Not all IP lawyers are created equally. A patent attorney won't do you any more good than an estate attorney in this case. Search for terms like "boutique" in the title- this means all they do is IP, and they are probably very good at it, very cost-effective and because they are smaller, they have a lot less overhead (e.g. they are cheaper).
After that, if you find someone worthy and feel fiesty (or have some cash to throw around), have the attorney send them a letter back and tell them that there is no trademark issue at hand (their legal argument is wrought with holes) as you are performing an entirely different function and are not actively marketing so there is no likelihood of confusion among a similar audience.
I'd take down my site (since it's not making you money anyway, right?) but there is no way on earth that I'd pay $15k for anything. That's a bunch of horseshit, and I'd ask- specifically, where they came up with that figure.
Dollars to donuts it's arbitrary.
In this business if your not getting C&D's your not trying hard enough.
I'd say you have no case to answer and would be inclined to ignore. If their first letter had a deadline (which you didn't indicate it did) then let that pass.
If they still pursue it then take some legal advice and get a letter drawn up as phillian suggests.
The worst I think would happen is you transfer the domain, and if your not using it, there is no harm.
Why aren't you using it?
I'd say you have no case to answer and would be inclined to ignore. If their first letter had a deadline (which you didn't indicate it did) then let that pass.
If they still pursue it then take some legal advice and get a letter drawn up as phillian suggests.
The worst I think would happen is you transfer the domain, and if your not using it, there is no harm.
Why aren't you using it?
a few of u have asked for updates, so here's wats goin on.
i called their lawyer and thought he was gonna tear me a new asshole, but turns out, he didn't kno jack! i rebutted every single one of his arguments, and he didn't have anything to say. in the end, he finally goes, i'll tell me clients what u said, and we'll go from there..LOL.
his arguments were:
1. i trafficked the site - i did not, i only threw up a site template, but it was never live for 2yrs now
2. i monetized and benefitted from it commercially - since the site never had any users/items, i never made a single red cent from it
3. i was cyber-squatting - the def of squatting is to purchase a domain, temporarily place ads on it, and posting ur contact info with an "if interested, contact.." message for prospective buyers, which i was not doing. squatting is done by domainers who purchase domains in bulk with the intent of reselling, but i only have a total of 5 domains to my name
4. the site is confusingly similar to our site - i asked the lawyer...sir, u use google to search for things righ? so how many results pages do u typically search through before stopping? he said 2-3, and i said correct, that's usually what most people do. so when i googled both youbid/ubid, and searched through up to 10 results pages, my domain youbidyouwin.com was nowhere to be found. having said that, how would ur users even know about my domain, let alone be confused by it? haha, he was speechless.
i called their lawyer and thought he was gonna tear me a new asshole, but turns out, he didn't kno jack! i rebutted every single one of his arguments, and he didn't have anything to say. in the end, he finally goes, i'll tell me clients what u said, and we'll go from there..LOL.
his arguments were:
1. i trafficked the site - i did not, i only threw up a site template, but it was never live for 2yrs now
2. i monetized and benefitted from it commercially - since the site never had any users/items, i never made a single red cent from it
3. i was cyber-squatting - the def of squatting is to purchase a domain, temporarily place ads on it, and posting ur contact info with an "if interested, contact.." message for prospective buyers, which i was not doing. squatting is done by domainers who purchase domains in bulk with the intent of reselling, but i only have a total of 5 domains to my name
4. the site is confusingly similar to our site - i asked the lawyer...sir, u use google to search for things righ? so how many results pages do u typically search through before stopping? he said 2-3, and i said correct, that's usually what most people do. so when i googled both youbid/ubid, and searched through up to 10 results pages, my domain youbidyouwin.com was nowhere to be found. having said that, how would ur users even know about my domain, let alone be confused by it? haha, he was speechless.
your definition of cyber squatting is wrong. but whatever.. got plenty of WIPOs and UDRPs, having said that your strongest argument is "confusingly similar" which is clearly NOT... you're safe, worst case scenario they'll pay $1500 to file WIPO and then lose it and be f*** forever ouf of the domain 
your definition of cyber squatting is wrong. but whatever.. got plenty of WIPOs and UDRPs, having said that your strongest argument is "confusingly similar" which is clearly NOT... you're safe, worst case scenario they'll pay $1500 to file WIPO and then lose it and be f*** forever ouf of the domain
I am confused.
WIPO = World Intellectual Property Office.
UDRP = Uniform Domain Resolution Policy.
Calling something a "WIPO" is illogical- it's like calling a U.S. trademark registration a "USPTO" even though the office does many other things.
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