Someone has beaten me to the chop and bought the .co.uk of my .com! DOH! :( Couldnt afford to buy both at the time!
And now they have a site up and running that is pretty much the same as mine.
Ive read a few threads on the matter and trawled through the domain name forum, but i only found topics from the over side of the fence!
Both our sites are free information sites - covering the same subject area.
The domain name is Keyword1Keyword2.
Im in the process of setting this up as a company and registering the name.
As it stands, do i have any recourse? Although no content has been stolen, exactly the same subject areas have been covered.
And until i setup my site 3 months ago, there was no sites like these available (no independent ones anyway), so could i argue that they have used my idea, similar content and the same domain? I believe there are enough similarities to justify this theory.
Would this position change after the company registration? This could take some time, so what if they register before me?
Also, i have a sneaking suspicion (unfounded...for the now) that this has been set up by a larger company that i have critisesed in the past.
Would this have any bearing on the case (ie, anti-competitive issues)?
Im not looking for all the answers to these numerous questions, but does anyone know of a site that covers legislation in this matter? I know its a grey area! :)
Cheers for any help!
JOAT
Shak
[edited by: Shakil at 8:40 pm (utc) on Dec. 19, 2002]
Ive contacted your mate!
Ive also come up with a more devious solution....
...the guy has another site.... a dot com.... but the silly bugger hasnt registered the .co.uk!
But I have. ;) VISA POWER! RAHHHHH!
I think its time to pay his discussion forum a visit....
Thanks again
JOAT :)
they are free to set up a site doing the same thing as you - you cannot trademark a concept. as you were online first, you have the "prior use" rights to register the site name as a trademark. you can claim that the site name is a trademark right now, just not a registered trademark. your trademark entitles you to ask them to cease using that name and transfer the domain to you (see below).
however, if you have not registered the trademark, there is a risk that they could register it themselves. you should sign up for the trade mark journal and if they have applied to register it, you must object. see www.patent.gov.uk for more information.
in any event, if they are using the .co.uk of your domain to do the same as you, and if they are making money out of their site, you are entitled to claim that they are "passing off" - ie, pretending to be you to collect traffic (and income) from people visiting their site thinking they are visiting yours. you may be able to claim compensation through the courts.
you could be entitled to ask them to transfer the domain name to you. take a look at the nominet site at www.nic.uk and search for dispute resolution service. most disputes can be resolved before the cost of £750 is required for independent experts to adjudicate.
different rules apply (or do not apply as the case may be) if they are using the .co.uk for something entirely different or if they are in another country.
>in any event, if they are using the .co.uk of your domain to do the same as you, and if they are making money out of their site, you are entitled to claim that they are "passing off" - ie, pretending to be you to collect traffic (and income) from people visiting their site thinking they are visiting yours. you may be able to claim compensation through the courts.
Yes they are. I run a free non profit site. They are covering the same subject areas (badly may I add!) but also have amazon affiliate advertising in place.
I dont think i could claim lose of income, but could i still go for compensation?
Ill have a look at those sites you mentioned - i did contact the webmaster and make an offer ;)
Cheers :)
Ive looked at the trademark site, but i dont think i can tradmark my brand as it is a semi-generic keywordkeyword domain. Still might try if all else fails.
The owner of the .co.uk has admitted that he was aware of my site before he registered and registered the domain because "his other choice was taken and he left it to the last minute".
Now im not particularly bothered about the competition - mainly its a non profit site giving out information, so the more the merrier in that respect.
But its the principal of the fact that ive done a lot of work and now this guy has chucked this site together (not that well designed IMHO, but im bias) and is profiting from the branding. Well, at least intends to (amazon links, not very subtly incorporated into the text).
I would like to come to an amicable arrangement, but Im just not prepared to let someone else use a brand Ive developed - am I being unreasonable? Is there anything else i can do?
Cheers for all the help so far.
JOAT
Already done and dusted.
JOAT
We found out today that the .com is being held by a hosting company by "a client", and has been for the past 2 years, but not been used.
Does anyone know if we can petition nominet to transfer the domain on the grounds that my friend has this name as a registered business and the other guy isnt using it at all?
Does it matter who registered it first?
The name is a fairly unique brand name - probably one of the ones bought up a few years ago in order to sell on for profit.
Cheers
JOAT :)
don't know to much about the petition idea,
but i got a feeling that your friend , may have the bite the bullet, and ask how much for the domain.
Thats what ill probably advise him to do - although if the guy starts to demand stupid amounts for it then it will probably just be left.
Cheers
JOAT
