Entitlement to domain name of a dead celebrity

[mokes]

I own a FirstnameLasname.com domain of a dead celebrity. Does the estate have a legal right to take the domain from me?

Their lawyers have offered me a small sum - basically an amount that would cover my expenses to date on the domain. I don't really want to sell but I don't really want legal problems either.

I am making money off the name though not anything extraordinary. I have also improved the value of the domain in the 2 years that i've owned it. If the estate does take ownership, they will definitely benifit from improved organic traffic.

[kaled]

All you can expect are opinions rather than solid advice. However, you'll have to provide more information such as.

1) Is you site based on the celebrity or is the domain name a coincidence?
2) What country are you in?
3) What country has jurisdiction on the estate?
4) What country is your registrar in?
5) How long has the celebrity been dead?
6) Was he/she a minor Z-lister or a major A-lister?

This has probably occurred before, so I would expect some sort of legal precedent to exist, but if no precedent does exist, you may be able to just tough it out.

I would ask their lawyers to outline the basis of their claim. If they are unwilling or unable to do so, I'd be inclined to think their case is weak.

Kaled.

[mokes]

Thanks for helping to clarify Kaled. I guess i am just hoping to hear from anyone who has encountered this situtaion before.

I will most likely just give them the domain but before i do i'd like to know a little more about the situation. Here's answers to your questions:

1) Not a coincidence.. i bought it b/c she was famous
2) usa
3) usa
4) usa
5) 1 year
6) b-lister i'd say

Thanks much

[dailypress]

if youre not making over 100 $/month off of the domain sell it. Its not worth losing sleep over it. Calculate the time youve thought about this domain and whether or not you will face legal issues. Is it really worth it?

just my personal opinion.

[kaled]

Since you registered the domain while the celeb was alive and it's not a coincidental use of the name, it sounds like the estate may have a strong case. Nevertheless, I would still expect some sort of legal precedent to exist. The only case I can think of that might be relevant (but is not internet related) was that of a doll manufacturer verses the estate of Princess Diana - I think the estate won.

Kaled.

[tim222]

Sedo's legal team wrote a great article on this exact topic:

[sedo.com...]

An excerpt from the article:

Celebrity domain names are a perplexing facet of the domain industry. Currently, there are countless celebrity domain name registrations owned by persons other than the celebrity. Yet, when ownership rights of a celebrity domain name are contested, the majority of disputes resolve in favor of the celebrity. This trend is puzzling given that celebrities generally do not have a trademark right in their personal name. This article examines why celebrities have such favorable results through the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP).

[mokes]

Thanks for the link tim222. That does help to clarify things. The only lingering questions I still have are..

- How does the fact that the celebrity is no longer alive effect the points laid out in the Sedo article?

- Does the estate / descendants of the celebrity maintain the same legal right to the domain as the celebrity himself?

- If so, how long do these rights persist?

[piatkow]

Quickly adding the comment that this is personal opinion and that I have no legal qualifications:

- Does the estate / descendants of the celebrity maintain the same legal right to the domain as the celebrity himself?

No idea but thinking of the market in re-releases of audio or video material I suspect that the "great divide" won't give quite as much protection as you would expect.

[kaled]

Intellectual property rights can certainly pass from one person to another upon death - there's no question about that. The issue here is whether an estate can enforce rights after death that were not enforced prior to death (and no attempt made). My own feeling is probably yes, but the issues are enormously complex, for instance...

Suppose an author wrote a couple of books in the sixties called "Stolen Kisses in the Night" and "Stolen Kisses in the Morning" but then died in 1990. Let's further suppose that a rock band was formed in 2000 called "Stolen Kisses" and but the author's estate had sold the film rights in 1995 to Warner Bros. - who would have the right to the domain name? It's not easy! Personally, I would say the first to register had all the rights, but if that was the rock band, I am certain there are lawyers out there who would disagree (esp if someone in the band said their name was inspired by the books).

In the case specified by Mokes, the estate probably has all the rights but there could be specific rules that say otherwise (aimed at sorting out complex cases like the example above).

Kaled.