Can I get sued for this?

T

theironlemming

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Hey everyone,

I've read quite a few topics on here about aged domain buying strategy so I've been on the hunt for a few decent PR and aged domains.

I came across a domain with a pr2 and aged about 3 years so I decided to snatch it up because it would work well with one of my law niches.

However, after buying it, I realized that it uses the law firms name in the domain.

For example: Law firm owns LEGALFIRMlaw.com, the domain I picked up uses -LEGALFIRMlawblog.com.

Now, obviously, I want to avoid a C&D, so do you guys think I'm opening myself to some legal issues here?

Should I A)Setup a 301 redirect and blast the crap out of the domain with spammy links to pass some link juice to another site; B)Use the domain and carry on as usual; or C) something different?

Looking for some advice from those of you who have had some experience with this.
 
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With it being a legal firm I would tread lightly. They're lawyers after all and whether or not they have a legit claim they can still make your life difficult if they wanted to. They may be able to get you with trademark infringement if it is trademarked or just the fact that it's their name and you don't have a law firm based on the same name may be enough to give you problems.
 
I would say this name falls under fair use. It's a pretty generic term.
 
Cnotey said:
I would say this name falls under fair use. It's a pretty generic term.
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the legalfirm in the domain is just an example because the op doesn't want to say the real domain name

for the op I would go with the 301 redirect
 
why not write a line on somewhere on homepage or footer stating that this has nothing to do with the "blabla "firm

i got a domain which can be a copyright case with a TV channel but after i stated that this is not affiliated or managed by the firm , i was good to go

try this and wait for others to respond
 
midnight_focus said:
the legalfirm in the domain is just an example because the op doesn't want to say the real domain name

for the op I would go with the 301 redirect
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Ah, then yes, OP is screwed. You can't use a company name in a domain.
 
Cnotey said:
Ah, then yes, OP is screwed. You can't use a company name in a domain.
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Yes you can as long as you don't post any detrimental posts that are not true. There are plenty of review sites that do just that.
 
As long as you do not make disparaging remarks or anything of the sort you should be good, as far as not actually breaking the law. Also don't impersonate them or come close if possible, you want to make it clear that you are distinct from the previous law firm (and thus not infringe on trademark). Also keep in mind that there can exist two law firms with the same name in different jurisdictions (attorneys have to be licensed to practice in a particular state). Are you in the same jurisdiction? if no, I would say trademark infringement would be a crappy argument. But, the law firm can still sue you just to screw with you, which companies and attorneys alike do often.
 
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I'm not sure about this. I would be extremely careful with this tactic...
I would most likely stay away
 
Nookie Monster said:
Yes you can as long as you don't post any detrimental posts that are not true. There are plenty of review sites that do just that.
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You actually can't. Even if you have a review site with only positive things about the company, the company can still take your domain.
 
Nookie Monster said:
Yes you can as long as you don't post any detrimental posts that are not true. There are plenty of review sites that do just that.
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No you cannot, just because people do it and get away with it doesn't mean it's legal.
 
Many trademarks (and I mean many) cannot pass over state lines.
Business names are almost UNIVERSALLY unable to be enforced across state lines.
 
This may or may not pass un-noticed, but it may be worth a try:
If the legal firm in question has an affiliate program, just redirect the domain to the law site using your cloaked affiliate id.

Otherwise I would just set it to a parking page.
 
You could try D ... offer to sell it to them. Explain you saw the domain for sale and bought it before realizing it had an existing company name in it. Offer to sell it to them at 'cost' (which of course includes a margin). If not, I would go for A (and if/when it gets kicked to the curb by Google, then do D :)
 
Thanks for the responses guys.. looks like I've got some tough decisions on what to do with this domain. Good thing it was only $12 lol. Seem as though parking page is the best way to go.

buttulgly said:
You could try D ... offer to sell it to them. Explain you saw the domain for sale and bought it before realizing it had an existing company name in it. Offer to sell it to them at 'cost' (which of course includes a margin). If not, I would go for A (and if/when it gets kicked to the curb by Google, then do D :)
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Although offering them the domain sounds like a good idea -- isn't it illegal in some code to offer to sell a domain to someone that contains their business name? I vaguely remember something similar to that from my JC law classes years ago.
 
agente808 said:
This may or may not pass un-noticed, but it may be worth a try:
If the legal firm in question has an affiliate program, just redirect the domain to the law site using your cloaked affiliate id.

Otherwise I would just set it to a parking page.
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Laurie, check PM.
 
I would be very careful, in fact, I personally wouldn't try it. Lawyers are good at making your life difficult and at squeezing every last theoretical penny out of a situation.
 
You can dig a hole on your property and some moron can trespass on your property, fall in the hole, and sue you.

You can get sued for anything :)
 
theironlemming said:
B)Use the domain and carry on as usual
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Have a look at
Code: 
http://paypalsucks.com/
for inspiration here.
Your new domain's expired so someone didn't want it. Your friends lawfirm.com had the same opportunity to buy it up and did not.
Screw them.
"Better to apologize than ask permission." (Can't remember what film that is from?).
 
If its a real company name in the domain name, then I would not use it for any purpose, a 301 redirect can be a better option anyways coz you will stay under radar.
 
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