Can a .com sue a .info?

hey guys i run a website that is a .info and the person with a .com of the same name wants to sue me because i have the .info version of the same name. Does he have grounds?

 

If part of your domain name is trademarked(Ex. Google, Facebook) and is owned by a company, then the owner of that trademarked name have the right to sue you "IF" you're monetizing it without their knowledge.

You better ask him/her for an ownership and trademarked proof before making any actions and if he really owned that name and is trademarked, you better settle if with him and tell him that you'll just surrender the domain name to him to avoid any legal complaints that will come your way.

 

If the website owner does not have the domain name trademarked he cannot sue you.

Also - If your website was made before his you could actually sue him if you live in the U.S:

"you have ?common law? rights to the trademark."

"In the U.S., the person who establishes priority in a mark gains the ultimate right to use it. According to the Lanham Act, determining who owns a mark involves establishing who first used it to identify his/her goods. That means, in the United States, you do not need to register a mark to establish rights to it. However, registering a mark means that the registrant is presumed to be the owner of the mark for the goods and services specified in the application. "

In summary:

If he trademarked the name - He can sue you.
If he didn't - He can't.
If he didn't, Your website was made before his, And you live in the U.S - You can sue Him instead.

I'm not an actual lawyer, but I got this information off of a legal site about trademarks.

 

killrazed, your logic isn't very strong. You say that if he didn't trademark it he cannot sure you. However, you say that if you made the website before he did, and did not trademark, you can sue him. If that is the case, clearly he can sure you if he made his website before you whether or not he trademarked it

 

If he owns the copyright, and trademark of the name - then yes, he can issue your domain company a C&D - which means, they need to remove the domain from your account, since its own by them

 

If the name of your domain is trademarked/copyrighted and he's not happy with that then first thing he legally has to do is send you a C&D letter to which you should comply and hand over the domain to him if you don't want to get sued.

Until he sends the C&D letter he can't really do you any harm.

 

lots of half-correct information posted so far

The main issue is whether your use of your domain infringes on his brand name, it does not matter whether he owns the .com domain, who registered the domain first, etc.

If you own apple.info, for example, and your website is about the variety of apple fruits, you have no problem.

If you own apple.info and you are selling Apple brand computers or talking about Apple computers, then your use of the domain does infringe on the brand and trademark of the Apple computer company.

You can't run a website that gives the impression your website is associated with the real company of that same name.

 

This is exactly right. We were discussing this in my computers class (when we were on ethical issues). If your site has nothing to do with what his is, then you are fine.

 

Wrong. A TM holder is under no obligation to give you a C&D or even notice. They could opt to file a lawsuit or WIPO action without contacting them in advance.

To the OP, anyone if free to file suit against you. Whether or not they will win depends on the actual name (descriptive names generally are not eligible for TM protection), whether or not the .com owner has acquired TM rights (and no filing is necessary for a common law TM), and whether or not your usage is the same or similar. You need to see an IP attorney for a answer that would specifically apply to your domain name.