Need your help badly, anyone ms want my domain
 

i recieved this email from microsoft corp today:

Check the post here please:

http://www.windowsos.com/forum/showt...?threadid=1869

I need help alot please what should i do?

Do what they tell you to, unless you like lawsuits :)

THAT IS SUCH A LOVLY SITE MATE bloodu microsoft hav 2 spoil everything !

My thoughts are to fight them into buying it. People have gotten tons of money that way. There is no way they can make a lawsuit that would stand in court towards you. If a judge saw that, he or she would immediately throw it out. But if you aren't into taking risks, you know the other option.

Wow i'm not going to offer advice on this one. I'm sure Erwin will come across this thread. He's studying internet law so he may be able to give you soom good advice on this matter :)

- miSt

IMO, you got there first, and regged that domain;)

You aren't pretending to be Microsoft, so literally they cannot sue you for using a name which refers to something everyone has in their houses and everyone can look out of;)

Just find an abbreviation / name which could stand for OS, like, erm, open shutters (something windowy), and there is nothing they can do about it really...

Satan

I agree with hellsatan, you purchased the domain name and they want you to just simply fill in and hand over the domain. "I don't think so".

You would be foolish to sign that document anyway with out seeking legal advice in the first instance. At the end of the day you have to protect yourself from these people.

As for the logo's, I' don't know if they belong to Windows or not, but if they do simply get rid of them, what are they going to do once they have gone. Sue you because you have a domain name that may be mistaken for one of their's. "Thats not your fault"

Stick by your guns, however just incase follow the advice of hellsatan and create a name for the OS part of your domain.

Good luck!!!!

xpguy,

You need to give this a lot more thought.

Like it or not, your use of their Windows name is not coincidental and the term (domain registration) is being used (publicly) in the context of it being an Operating System...... which is exactly that their product is. Though you may not like being told what to do by a large, powerful corporation in this situation, you really are infringing upon a trademark that belongs to them. And they have every right and legal opportunity to go after you to the fullest extent of their interests and the law.

Holding out at this point because you think you "might" make a lot of money from this would not be very smart, as you're the one infringing upon them. They owe you nothing more than "fair notice" of the problem..... and they've taken care of that now by contacting you.

At the moment, you can't even claim ignorance of this matter (which wouldn't have excused you, anyway). Should you go on now to worsen your legal position by trying to hide the real (and innocent) purpose of your use of this domain by creating some cute/bogus "open shutters" connection..... then you'd be doing this "after the fact." (You must realize that they would have already researched and documented every bit of information displayed at your domain and your registration BEFORE they contacted you.) So, making changes now would only demonstrate an intentional motivation on your part to hide, cover up, falsify, or defraud people about this.

Be careful..... and good luck.

(Let us know how this works out, ok?)

Talis.

You have a nice avatar :-p

you need a lawyer, period no question about it, if you plan on pursueing this.

Thanks, Keptic. Thought she's a lovely lass, so I'm happy with it.

She's also wearing a 'talisman' around her neck which brings good luck, commands the forces of nature, and wards off evil spririts (like lawyers and nasty corporations)!

Cheers.

:bunny: :bunny: :bunny:

As stated on vB.com, the only thing they can enforce is the removal of Windows Logos...

As far as the domain goes, Microsoft have no leg to stand on - They cannot sue him for having a domain containing the word "Windows" as everyone has them in their home - Are you telling me Microsoft could sue me because I have Windows in my house?:rambo:

Satan

However the domain WindowsOS is clearly related to the Windows registered trademark.

You bet, they can sue him over a Windows-"something".com domain, Chris. That's exactly why companies register trademarks in the first place.

In this situation, a direct connection between xpguy's domain name and their registered trademark/OS product is obvious. Just look how at the way he used their logo in connection with his domain. There's no way xpguy can even pretend that the two aren't related:


http://virtualcup.org/images/winlogo.gif


This looks like classic trademark infringement to me. For that matter, I almost think it would be hard to find a more blatant example.

As they've notified xpguy, they own "WindowsXP" and "Windows98" ..... so they've already shown a direct connection how his use of a "WindowsOS" domain infringes upon their trademark and could reasonably be shown to confuse their customers looking for OS support for their Windows product from them; not from xpguy.

We're not talking about some legal fight between Speedy printing services vs. Speedy plumbing services...... in which case any resulting confusion would be incidental and there's no overlap in the customer base of the two organizations. And xpguy is not running a domain/website advising people how to install window panes, screen doors, and shutters.

The way I see it....... for Microsoft's legal department to eat this (xp)guy for lunch, they only have to show three things:

1. The trademark owner <<Microsoft>> owns a trademark <<Windows Operating System>> that is the same or confusingly similar to the registered second level domain name <<WindowsOS>>;

[Well, duh...]

2. The party that registered the domain name <<xpguy>> has no legitimate right or interest in that domain name;

[Meaning those rights belong to the trademark owner; not someone else.]

3. The domain name was registered and used in bad faith.

It's this third item at question now.

So what would a court look at? ...... xpguy registered a WindowsOS domain, plastered Microsoft's logo on that domain name, and started offering technical support services to the public for a software product that doesn't belong to him. The fact that he registered the domain as a .com address instead of .org or .net gives him an option to make this a commercial enterprise any time he chooses in the future.... another consideration Microsoft and their lawyers won't overlook.

If xpguy cooperates with Microsoft's request to transfer this domain to them and he sets up another less official-sounding domain name, he'd be okay...... But if he thinks he can fight their right to pursue legal action to protect their trademark or makes the mistake of asking (demanding) money from them to give up the domain, then his actions would demonstrate that his real purpose for registering the WindowsOS domain all along was to get some financial gain from this. Thus, he would just prove their case against him that he's operating in bad faith.

Talis.

the only way the two are related are because i support people with windows problems what about winiebeta.net win is short for windows and ie is short for internet explorer the small logo is from a vbulletin style that is given away free. What about xpuser.com the same applies there, I have not earned one penny from the domain name so i am in breach of nothing in that sense. The domain name is to attract people to the site and around the site there is platered a disclaimer stating that this site is not part of Microsoft. Also they cant prove i have made any pennies from this domain so thats the worse excuse i have heard if ms lawyers think that and build there case on that i will rip them apart myself. In the real world you need proof not something that may or maynot happen in the future and if i did sell a product called windows something then ok yes but im not going to.

Don't take this the wrong way, but if you don't even capitalize letters or use punctionation in your posts on the matter, I seriously doubt you have a hope of defending yourself.

the guy in my post above (post 14) should also do the same before giving advice, i know what im doing, they wont get over me that easily.

Never give in just because they are Microsoft;)

Satan

xpguy,

You asked for our advice and that's what you got.

You want to argue this instead? Okay. Well, that's what the legal system is for.

Have a nice time.

Talis.

lol i dont want to annoy people but whoever thought of this legal system needs there head rescrewing i think if people want to take others to court then they should pay for there lawyers not the guy who loosers pay for the lawyers anyway well here is a update my friends at neowin.net found out the domain was first registered in 1992 and here is my info:

Well i was waiting for the majority to reach a descision where i posted this email but its 50 50 so ill try this:

My domain name is registered with digitalhost.net and the admin is Australian, i have trusted him far and probably continue to do so but this attached document got me wondering.

As Microsoft is based in the USA and not in AUS this document is from a firm in the AUS.

click please to see it - uploaded on my friends site ;) mine was down :S

Let me know what you think please.

Sorry, but you'll have to consult a legal advisor on what to do. You may have a point, but Microsoft is the one who legally registered the trademark.

Either way, please address the parties in question.

Microsoft owns the trademark. You infringed their trademark by using their trademark. You broke the law, and have to stop using their trademark. Go to court and you will lose. Check out the WIPO website for multiple cases of Microsoft winning case after case. Just my 2 cents in a closed thread.