RE: UKNM: Help with domain dispute?

[Bunder, Leslie]

A name like Circlemakers is very generic and therefore you are not likely to

be able to take it off the guy.  Maybe if you had a trademark for it, but

it's rather like the word "bank".


Barclays Bank owns the domain name bank.co.uk,  I don't think NatWest, HSBC,

Lloyds TSB or any other bank would be able to take that name of Barclays as

it is generic.


Large firms like Dell can get their names due to owning trademarks and often

the names have been registered by cybersquatters who take them and offer

them with menace which the courts don't like. 


The advice with generic names is to get them as quick as you can.


But at least the owner of the domain has linked to your site.  Is your site

UK based or focused?  If so, what about circlemakers.co.uk or

circlemakers.net


But of course, best to seek some professional advice.  Nick Lockett at

Sidley & Austin is very switched on.  Contact details can be found via 


http://www.netlaw.co.uk/1_m.htm 


Leslie

____________________________________________________

Leslie Bunder 

Project Manager,  TDL InfoSpace

e-mail:

Leslie [dot] Bunderinfospaceuk [dot] com

 (work) or

lesliebunder [dot] com

 (home)

Web:  www.infospace.co.uk

tel: 01252 390516 (UK)   +44 1252 390516 (outside UK)

mobile: 07010 701967 (UK)  or +44 7010 701967 (outside UK)

Thomson House, 296 Farnborough Road, Hants, GU14 7NU


 ----------

>

From: John Lundberg[SMTP:johndevelopmental [dot] co [dot] uk]

> Sent: 	29 June 1999 16:15

>

To: uk-netmarketingchinwag [dot] com

> Subject: 	UKNM: Help with domain dispute?

> 

> Hi,

> 

> I run http//www.circlemakers.org the home of England's crop circle makers

> which has been online since 1995. I need some advice about my legal

> position re the domain name http://www.circlemakers.com which has recently

> been registered to promote a book about crop circle makers [that's us!].

> It's just a holding page at the moment but I was gutted when I found out

> as

> I was planning to buy the domain, but this guy got there before me. I've

> offered to buy the domain back off of him but he doesn't want to sell.

> 

> The point is, I've spent five years building the circlemakers 'brand' both

> online and offline, in traditional media such as the NBC-TV and BBC

> Country

> File documentaries that were recently made about us.

> 

> Annoyingly, the media often give out the wrong URL for our site [ .com

> instead of .org - see the current issue of Internet Magazine for the most

> recent example :/ ]. The owner of circlemakers.com has now put up a note

> about our site and a link, but it's a small consolation.

> 

> Do I have any legal recourse to reclaim the domain? Obviously I don't own

> a

> trademark for the word but I think I could put up a very strong claim for

> the domain.

> 

> Can anybody help?

> 

> Or have I just been shafted!?! If large corporations can claim back their

> domains, isn't it time that individuals are given the same rights???

> 

> Later,

> John

> 

>  john lundberg:                   developmental:

>

johndevelopmental [dot] co [dot] uk (mailto:johndevelopmental [dot] co [dot] uk) http://www.developmental.co.uk

>  tel:       +44 (0) 171 249 3172  fax:      +44 (0) 870 054 8748

> 

>  [   for too long creation has been a slave to rational time   ]


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