Howdy chrisp112-ga,
A reminder of the "Important Disclaimer: Answers and comments provided
on Google Answers are general information, and are not intended to
substitute
for informed professional medical, psychiatric, psychological, tax, legal,
investment, accounting, or other professional advice."
"Can they sue me for it because their name is in it?"
Yes. This general topic is spelled out in detail by a company that is very
aggressive in enforcing their trademark. You should read this Volkswagen web
page in detail.
http://vwtrademarks.com/vw.aspx?file=vwpolicy.htm
"Because of the cachet of the world-famous Volkswagen name, thousands of
independent businesses and people make a living from or pursue a hobby
related to Volkswagen products and services. ... Volkswagen cannot, however,
allow these businesses to use Volkswagens trademarks and trade dress in a way
that creates the appearance that these businesses are affiliated with,
sponsored by, or approved by Volkswagen when they are not."
Volkswagen, on the page referenced above, speaks to domain names.
"Unauthorized and infringing uses of Volkswagen trademarks come in many
disguises. Examples of cases in which Volkswagen has successfully pursued
infringers include the following ... businesses that use Volkswagen
trademarks in their Internet domain names, such as VW.NET, NEWVWBEETLE.COM,
ANYVWPART.COM, and VOLKSWAGON.COM."
"Since they gave me [the] right to sell and use their items, does that cover
all legal means of using their name in my domain name?"
Not unless you have a specific license or permission to use their name in
that specific way. This is sometimes granted in an authorized dealer
agreement, such as referenced on the Anthem?/Sonic Frontiers International
website.
http://www.anthemav.com/NewSitev2.0/Copyright/Copyright.html
"All contents of this website ... are the copyrighted property of Anthem?/
Sonic Frontiers International and may not be used for any purpose whatsoever
without our express written permission. Such permission is automatically
granted to Authorized Anthem? Dealers and their authorized agents only
subject to the Terms and Conditions of our Authorized Dealer Agreement(s)."
You are getting into several issues related to trademark infringement such
as the likelihood of confusion, which could be a consideration, considering
you state your domain name is "more apt to be used" than theirs. Likelihood
of confusion is one of the "traditional questions of trademark infringement"
according to this article titled "Unauthorized Use of Another?s Trademark on
the Internet" as written by Erlend Bakken.
http://www.lawtechjournal.com/articles/2003/03_030629_bakken.pdf
You should read the above paper in detail as it covers a good number of the
issues involved in your situation.
As to your last question about what is spent on domain names, this is where
you need to be extremely careful, because of the "Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer
Protection Act" (ACPA) of 1999. More on this can be found on the "Submerged
Ideas" website.
http://www.submerged-ideas.com/litigation/anticybersquat.htm
"Under the ACPA, a person may face civil liability to the owner of a
trademark ... if such person ..."
The ACPA is a tricky thing, but, in theory, if you were to say to this "well
known company" something such as "I would need $2000 in order to transfer
my website to a new domain name, etc." then the "well known company" might
come after you under the ACPA. End result could be "statutory damages" of
$1,000 to $100,000.
You have few alternatives, such as getting an attorney, but my suggestion
would be for you to contact the company and ask them (very nicely!) how you
may accommodate them. I would refrain from any mention of monetary reward.
If you need any clarification, please feel free to ask.
Search strategy:
Google search on: trademark dealer lawsuit
://www.google.com/search?q=trademark+dealer+lawsuit
Google search on: trademark dealer permission
://www.google.com/search?q=trademark+dealer+permission
Google search on: "anticybersquatting act"
://www.google.com/search?q=%22anticybersquatting+act%22
Personal experience as a former owner/operator of an Internet Service Provider
(ISP) company that did web hosting.
Looking Forward, denco-ga - Google Answer Researcher |
