wwyd?

if you were sitting on a potential hot trademark

[httpwebwitch]

scenario:
you own a .com named after your cat. one day, you get a call from a prominent tech company, one that makes stylish MP3 players and stuff. They want to buy your domain because they are trademarking the name for a yet-to-be-released product.

what would you do?

[jsinger]

You have a cat named ipod?

[jdMorgan]

Ask them earnestly if they'd like to make a huge improvement in their product namesake's standard of living in exchange for a miniscule fraction of their potential profits from the use of the domain name... :)

They are both making an offer and notifying you that they intend to trademark the name. And that means that if you're not actively using the domain, then they may be able to take it. So, on the one hand, they have deep pockets to buy your domain, and on the other hand, they have lots of attorneys on the payroll if they think your demand is too high. So, the message is both an opportunity and a warning.

This is a rather nice problem to have, especially if you're very good at poker... :)

Jim

[httpwebwitch]

You have a cat named ipod?

yes - plus a dog named Fido, a hamster named Skype, and a fish named Wii.
joking.

[superpower]

Just don't do this....(one of my favorite dotcom stories)

Scenario:
A guy needs a throwaway domain name for his test server.
He decides to buy the .com of his Internic-assigned user id.
His first name initial is M. His last name is P.
He is the 3rd user with those initials.
He registers MP3.com.
A while later he is offered $1k for it.
He sells it.

A couple years later...MP3.com raises $370 million+ in IPO.

Don't be that guy.

[rocker]

They are both making an offer and notifying you that they intend to trademark the name. And that means that if you're not actively using the domain, then they may be able to take it. So, on the one hand, they have deep pockets to buy your domain, and on the other hand, they have lots of attorneys on the payroll if they think your demand is too high. So, the message is both an opportunity and a warning.

I'm with jdmorgan on this one. Beware of wolves in sheep clothing. Do not email/say anything that may backfire on you later.

[appi2]

evil mode.
They actually put the trademark through yet?
Could sell them that as well ;)

please dont listen to me

[inbound]

Link bait heaven! (and a chance to immortalise your cat)

Apart from the financial gain from selling the name, think of the amount of links you could get if you were clever with letting the press know the origin of the domain name.

The press love a quirky story, so make sure the company get the name at a fair price and you don't sign anything that would stop you from disclosing details that would appear in the release (apart from confidentiality on financial terms).

[Leosghost]

this happened to universal music when they were still called vivendi ..they developed a service without checking if the domain name was available ..when they were ready to rollout they discovered some guy had already bought it and was using the dot com in a community cyber cafe ..
to get it they just offered him FR 2,000,000.00..about $350,000.00

he took it :)

this is going back a few years

they had already invested way more than that and had the name over everything ..

edit made error on currency demoninator

[edited by: Leosghost at 1:47 pm (utc) on Dec. 2, 2006]