Copyright warning email? Please read.

Did u have whois protection?

So you got a few old members telling you to burn the site, and then you got a few registered in 2014's telling you to keep going. You decide OP.
Living in EU means jackshit. If your friend does however live in the EU, romania might be a good place to hide. /hint/hint

People in IM always think they are invulnerable because they work online and everything is allowed. Yea, it is - until they get you, eventually.

edit:

Penumbra said:

Did u have whois protection?

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LOL. Get outta here.

Its pure logic.

They wont waste money on an internetional process to take down a fake hack website.

Does not take 10 years on BHW to understnd that.

Costs of international process vs guy in Romania = 40k + Euros + registering trademark, chances of success 50%
Costs of not doing it = 0 Euros

WhiteHatTryHard said:

I get these emails every month...
...but then I am in a european country and they have no power here.

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They will find you wherever you are, it just depends how much monetary damage you are causing them.

New article today about all three Pirate Bay founders in JAIL: http://www.businessinsider.com/all-of-the-pirate-bays-founders-are-now-behind-bars-2014-11

Obviously, they are an extreme example as their site is numero uno when it comes to pirating, but I think you get the point.

WhiteHatTryHard said:

Its pure logic.

They wont waste money on an internetional process to take down a fake hack website.

Does not take 10 years on BHW to understnd that.

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Although hack sites are small fishes, we have no idea what type of site exactly OP has. The email might just be there to scare him to take the site down but if they see that in the long run it is going to cause them a bad reputation then they may pursue legal action. The chance is slim though, most fake hack sites do not have a user base that is sufficiently large for them to take interest.

If any of their trademarks is present in the domain name then, for sure, take it down. There are many instances where people have been sued take the a.pl website for example.

Also, the date limit given in the email was October 31st, has your friend been contacted yet OP?

How much are you, i mean your friend, making from this site?

The more you are making, the higher the risk.

Do take these things seriously.

WhiteHatTryHard said:

Its pure logic.

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Nice logic, both equations are just plain wrong.

WhiteHatTryHard said:

Costs of international process vs guy in Romania = 40k + Euros + registering trademark, chances of success 50%

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Registering trademark? The trademark is already in place, what are you even talking about? Chances of success 50%??? What is that 40k + Euros figure? Please elaborate.

WhiteHatTryHard said:

Costs of not doing it = 0 Euros

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That is just HARD cash. You're forgetting stuff such as reputation damage, outreach damage, precedent. (As a marketer, you should know about this stuff)

At this point I would be really curious as of how your own "legal letter" looks like.

Let's not forget that from what OP is telling us, the site is brand-new (5 days?). How much $$$ do you think it does generate? Is it worth the risk?
Obviously it's not you being on the line here, so it's fairly easy for you to tell him to keep going on, isn't it.

I'm not saying the risk is high here, I doubt the chances of a lawsuit are even anywhere near 1%, but let me ask again, is it worth it?

Hey you dont have to listen to me.

However, I get these emails on a regular basis and no company has ever done anything upon me ignoring it.

I wont disclose my main site, but if you saw it, you certainly would know I get a lot of that stuff^^

Buy hey what do i know... i'm new here

[atttt]fistorfistor
He mentioned that he does not cause them any financial harm.

Hiring a local lawyer, paying the fees to file complaints ect will cost around 40k including the process fees themselves and success is not guaranteed, since the trademark was registered AFTER the content was put online.

I got a friend in Germany that was sued by a huge US company... I know the numbers. It was a clear case of unfair competition, yet the huge company did not win the process, because they registered te trademark after his product was released... the battle is still going on after 4 years.

But that guy was actually costing them money... millions... literally.

There is no conceivable way in heck that a company would jump through all these hoops for a few dollars with no damage done to their product...

Do I need to provide even more insider-knowledge? Must I tell you all the names of huge companies that sent me emails?

I know I dont have 3k posts on this forum, but I'm quite sure that when it comes to legal complaints I know a heck of a lot more than most of you. - Simply because I'm in a niche that is very prone to developing these sorts of problems.

These huge companies use scare tactics...
...like a dog that barks. But the dog wont bite unless you actually mean harm.

If my friend will drop off this domain and gets another one on the same niche, what should he do to avoid this kind of email? Don't include the word "simpsons" in the domain name, right?

SalieriJazz said:

If my friend will drop off this domain and gets another one on the same niche, what should he do to avoid this kind of email? Don't include the word "simpsons" in the domain name, right?

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I would think there is more to it then that.

For example, lets say I had a site and the url was mylittlesimpsons.com and the site had nothing to do with the simpsons tv show, then I would never receive that type of email from a Fox lawyer.

Your friends problem is that he is infringing upon Fox's intellectual property on the site, by doing whatever it is that he is doing.

You cannot normally have their brand name in your domain, though you could sometimes get away with it. Its therefore best that you take the website down.

Why not thank them for their interest in your website... and as they want it... You are prepared to sell it for a modest cost .... and then get out of dodge city!

Tell me one thing.. Did your friend the word simpson in the domain? Most of the times this is the main reason of getting emails like this. Like me & my friend used to own a site with word amazon on it. We also got a letter like this...

they just want a link from u, give them!

Here is the thing.
Tell your friend think and execute his own ideas and move on.
These things are real and I am pretty sure soon he will get more notices and his hosting will take down his site if he does not.

umerjutt00 said:

Tell me one thing.. Did your friend the word simpson in the domain? Most of the times this is the main reason of getting emails like this. Like me & my friend used to own a site with word amazon on it. We also got a letter like this...

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Yeah! That's what it is. He has the word "simpsons" in the domain.