Re: Canadian domain name lawsuit

by Stephen Johnston <pepe(at)gainsay.com>

 Date:  Tue, 16 Jan 2001 08:56:33 -0500
 To:  hwg-business(at)hwg.org
 References:  aaddesign
  todo: View Thread, Original
Dean,

         It's also possible that they used an automated service to send a 
letter to every domain name holder who had "trader" in the name. They and 
their lawyers may not have even considered you as an individual case. They 
are just covering the bases of their seemingly shaky trademark.
         This type of action seems to be getting more common. A person 
operating a ham radio with the call sign 75QVC (or something similar) and a 
website at 75QVC.com was sent a letter like this by QVC the home shopping 
people. He wrote them back telling them to buzz off and they did. However, 
I believe he did consult a lawyer.

HTH,
Stephen Johnston

At 09:59 AM 01/15/2001 -0800, you wrote:
>Don't forget that the singer "Sting" lost his court battle partly because
>sting is a common word.  If you're Canadian, you should know that there is a
>popular Canadian TV show called "Traders", will they be getting sued as
>well?  These people are full of hot air, and are messing with you for
>ownership of your name.  If it were me, I would  ignore them until they
>actually spend money to sue.  You can always find representation and/or give
>the name up when that happens.  It's unlikely that this type of civil action
>will find its way through the courts very quickly.
>
>Check out many articles from the British e-mag The Register.
>http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/29/11947.html
>
>David Godfrey
>Net Decorator/Developer
>PG Music Inc.
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Dean" <dean(at)aaddesign.com>
>To: "hwg-business (E-mail)" <hwg-business(at)hwg.org>
>Sent: January 13, 2001 9:09 AM
>Subject: Canadian domain name lawsuit
>
>
> > I am partners in a site called racehorsetrader.com and have been contacted
> > by Trader Publications with the threat of a lawsuit.  They own the
>trademark
> > 'trader' and want us to cease using the site and domain name.
> > Are there any precedences in Canada over this type of case?  Can they
> > actually win a court case where someone uses the everyday word 'Trader' in
>a
> > domain name/web site?  Or is it more likely they are trying to manipulate
> > us, as they undoubtedly have way more money to spend on lawyers than we
>do?
> > My first reaction was to let them take us and spend all kinds of money and
> > we just represent ourselves, tell our story and spend nothing on lawyers
> > (but people say that I watch too many movies).  I know we have the right
>to
> > own the domain name, but does this mean we can't use it at all?
> > This is all very distracting, as the site is doing very well and we are
> > ready to start selling ads on there.
> >
> > Any comments or links that might help me become more informed before we
>make
> > a decision?
> >
> > thanks
> > Dean Lovell
> > racehorsetrader.com
> >
> >

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