Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California
Just received a bigfoot letter claiming a trademark infringement of my domain name. Typical boiler plate threats, i.e., you are a bad person, this will siphon business away from us and cause confusion in the buying public etc. My question is, are their threats real? Basically they want the domain transferred to them or it's a $100K fine for me.
I didn't register the domain with any forethought of malice, it popped into my head one day, was available, so I registered it.
Any thoughts?
2 Answers from Attorneys
It really depends upon the merits of their position and your stomach for fighting this party if they choose to sue you. Depending upon the facts of the situation, the dispute may need to be handled through WIPO arbitration for domain name disputes, which is a much less expensive process. I'd recommend you have a qualified attorney review it so you are clear on what your rights and obligations are.
As a Franchise Attorney I agree with the other attorney answer. I just did a Google search for bigfoot. Besides Sasquatch, there are no other big names out there. Does your domain address the same market as theirs? Their demand letter is not something you want to ignore. Consult with a good business or franchise attorney in your area for specific advice.
Mr. Franchise - Kevin B. Murphy, B.S., M.B.A., J.D.
Franchise Foundations, a Professional Corporation
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