Domain Name / Trademark dispute, who is in the right when the domain name is someone' legal name?

If the air fresheners registered the name as their company trademark before your friend purchased the domain name, they can file a legal dispute against your friend of trademark infringement and domain squatting. If your friend purchased the domain name before the air freshener company registered the name as their trademark, your friend has the right. But still they can file a legal dispute of trademark infringement and make your friend give up the domain name by being tired of paying hefty fees for fighting against them in the court.

There are many trademark holders who even file disputes if a domain name sounds similar to their trademark. For example, the famous dispute between Microsoft and a 12th grade student Mike Rowe over the domain name MikeRoweSoft.com. You can read about it at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_vs._Mike... In the above case, due to media and public support, Mike Rowe fought the legal dispute till they agreed for an out of court settlement.

But if he hadn't received media hype, he would have ended up paying hefty fees to fight the dispute. So, it would be a better choice for your friend to negotiate the domain price with the air freshener company and wait till she gets the last price offer from them. If she doesn't get a reasonable price offer for the domain name in the negotiation, she should contact a lawyer to see if she'll have to pay more fees for fighting dispute against them if charged any in the future or it would be a better choice to sell them the domain name for the last price they are offering.

The fact that your friend registered the name first without prior knowledge of the product AND it's her legal birth name (not changed to infringe on a trademark) AND she's not offering services similar to the air fresheners, then she's in the clear. If the air freshener company was around before the internet and the "legal name" your friend uses isn't their personal name (just a URL they purchased) then the air freshener company could win. Or if the air freshener company registered their product name before your friend purchased the URL (and it's not their actual birth name, just a company name) then they also have a leg to stand on against your friend.It would be wise for your friend to hire a copyright lawyer to negotiate the transfer or use of the name so it doesn't go to court.

The air freshener company will have more resources to bring to bear against your friend, your friend may lose simply to not being able to keep up with the court fees. They may agree to let her use a hyphenated name such as this-name.ORG instead of thisname. COM so it may just boil down to who got there first and your friend getting tired of air freshener traffic instead of child birth.

After some e-mails back and forth they offered her a sum of money for it, that she found not acceptable. ----- How much was she offered? I've sold 6 names over the last few years for different amounts.In her case it's business vs business and not personal vs business as in the Mike Rowe example.

If the air freshener business has better lawyers she might lose a lawsuit. I'd advise her to take the money. She can get another domain name and move on... use some of the money to grow her business.

No. 1 I am not a lawyer so this is just personal advise. I agree with the other 2 good answers here about the Lawyers and legal fees.

This is what I would do in that position, I would try to set the terms, 1. I would want them to pay for another domain name for life 2. I would want them to pay for hosting for a period of time.3.

I would want a monetary award. 4. I would request they pay for advertising of the new site for a period of time.5.

I would want them to hire a professional company to update the site and move it to the new server if moving it is required. This is what I think is best, but I also know the bottom line is, if it is a major company with resources to spend for a fight you will lose. As sad as this may seem I have found that right and wrong in a Court of law has a higher percentage to go with the money.

Also these requests are cheaper than attorney fees for a court fight. If you do the Math you can determine what the cost to the company would be and try to come in just under that figure to avoid the battle and it will be more appealing to the company to settle. Company's are for profit and if it is cheaper, that is the route they will take.

I do not think the company have a leg to stant on. It's probably why they are trying to sstrong arm you friend into giving it up.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.