Accused of Cybersqatting

[Cheeko]

Ok here it is:

I hold a Domain. I have held it long before any trademarks existed on the name.

Now to large companies with lots of money and legal power want the domain.

Company A has an appiled trademark, not a registerd one. They have offered me a nice some of money to take it off my hands.

Company B has applied for the same trademark a year later. They have said take $XXX.XX amount of dollars for the domain or we will drag your ass into court for squatting and infringement. I was a registered company and in operation on the net before both trademarks were in place.

Basically there is nasty trademark dispute between company A and B that is about to go down and I am currently in the middle of it.

Legally I beleive I have the right to sell out and distance my self from the situation.

The other problem is that because of the type of domain it is there is no dispute policy in place. So with no dispute policy and no real resgitered tradmark holder yet, who has the rights to the domain aside from my self.

Cheeko

 

[lawrat]

You are in the middle of what we deem to be shaky legal ground. If you sell, and court eventually determines you had no right to sell to A, B may hold you liable for X plus interest.

I say read the articles I have listed below and then contact an intellectual property attorney in your state. He/she may have information that might help you. Some attorneys at http://www.attorneypages.com give free consultations.

http://www.nolo.com/encyclopedia/articles/ilaw/cybersquatting.html

http://www.pc-radio.com/otr/cybersquat.html

 

[Cheeko]

What if?

Thanks for the input. What if I was to give the domain to one of the companies. Then intern do some consulting work for them at a price?

Cheeko

 

[lawrat]

I wouldn't. The only way is you had a contract that would make your transfer and the contract between you two for consulting co-terminus. One would end at the same time as the other.