Am I hosed? PROTOURING.COM url going live soon

[eldogg]

I wouldn't sweat it. I've been a member here since the first site,(only the real OG's will remember that) way back when.

[NOT A TA]

I'd think the domain name would be more likely to be used by a retail business catering to the PT market than anyone considering a competing forum so I wouldn't worry about it.

[CarlC]

Tell them no, then when theirs tanks offer them pennies for it.

This site is successful due to the outstanding members, the helpful content, and Larry The Man. Removing the - won't change that.

[Larry Callahan]

Thanks everyone for the kind words. However it's everyone else that makes the site what it is. Without anyone visiting and without a great group of moderators it wouldnt exist.

I think I will wait it out and see what happens. (not that I even have a choice) If there is confusion in the future I can always use one of the other urls I have set aside like protouringcars.com

[NJSPEEDER]

Wouldn't be a bad idea to activate whatever similar URL's you have ahead of their planned activation date then we can all just launch a search engine barrage seeking this site and the other active URL's to make sure they stay pressed waaaaayyyyy down the lists

If they wanna play games and be jerks about what the URL is worth the best thing you can do to prove your point is play the game better

-Tim

[wmhjr]

I wouldn't give them $1200 much less $12K if I were you Larry. Don't sweat it. You've built brand recognition and will not have any significant issues.

[critter]

Do you have an attorney on retainer? They can be made to give it up for reasonable compensation. The compnay I work for went through that. It took some time but since we were paying the attorney anyway, we finally got it.

[Off Duty]

Do you have an attorney on retainer? They can be made to give it up for reasonable compensation. The compnay I work for went through that. It took some time but since we were paying the attorney anyway, we finally got it.

If they had it first?

[terrydmorgan]

Sorry to see you're being victimized by protouring.com. I very much enjoy your site and visit it routinely to get advice on my 69 Camaro build. I happen to be a patent attorney in real life, and while I do not focus on trademark law, I am relatively familiar with it. You may be in a position to have this matter resolved without the time or expense of a trial. The people at protouring.com appear to be engaged in cybersquatting - registering a domain name that is the same or confusingly similar to another business with the intent of extorting money from you by selling the domain name to you. I strongly suggest that you get in touch with an attorney who specializes in trademark law, explain your situation and ask about the possibility of resolving this matter through the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). If you have not registered Pro-touring as your trademark, you should consider doing so asap. My firm specializes in patent law (wmalaw.com), and thus, we won't be much help, but if you need a recommendation for a trademark specialist, let me know where you're located and I can put you in touch with someone who can help. Best of luck. Feel free to call, if you want to talk. I'm out of the country for a few days, but fortunately, I have Internet access and can still follow all the interesting posts.

I'm in the middle of installing an LSA motor and 6L90 transmission in my car, so I need you guys to be around for a while longer. ;)

[wmhjr]

Do you have an attorney on retainer? They can be made to give it up for reasonable compensation. The compnay I work for went through that. It took some time but since we were paying the attorney anyway, we finally got it.

No, they can't be made to give it up if they legally procured it in advance. In order to even try to force the issue, you need pretty solid evidence of a violation of copyright or other deliberate illegal infringement. Since "Pro Touring" is not a "brand" that argument simply cannot be made. There is no protection available since there is no legal intellectual property in question. They don't even have to use the namespace. If they own it, they own it. I deal with this stuff every single day. Where there is clear trademark or copyright infringement there is an argument to be made, but in this case it's pretty much impossible for me to see any likely outcome forcing the release of the domain.

That being said, it just doesn't matter. Ignore them. You don't need it.

[1969CamaroRS]

I wouldn't sweat it, Protouring.com isn't even on the first page of google search results for "Pro Touring", while this site comes up #1 and #2.

http://www.google.com/search?q=Pro+touring

You could always offer then like 2k or something, if you really that worried. They are probably hoping you would give them something (they might even be desperate for cash for some reason) since they seem to be trying to stir your interest up.

[critter]

There's always a way.

In our case, it was a trademark infringement since it involved the newspaper name. Still, they take a much dimmer view of cybersquatting these days.

But like so many have said, is it really worth it? The forum is healthy and sought out by those who need the information. I'd not sweat it.

[wmhjr]

There's always a way.

In our case, it was a trademark infringement since it involved the newspaper name. Still, they take a much dimmer view of cybersquatting these days.

But like so many have said, is it really worth it? The forum is healthy and sought out by those who need the information. I'd not sweat it.

You really need to show clear trademark or copyright infringement for there to be any chance whatsoever. To be clear, in this case the ownership of the domain did not expire and then the "cybersquatter" immediately bought the domain rights. Nor is there any apparent previously filed trademark or copyright which was filed prior to the purchase of the domain. In this case it appears as though the only real resemblance to what is called "cybersquatting" is the fact that the domain owners are attempting to profit by offering the sale of the domain at an "inflated price", however this is only one of the required elements to be considered a vioation of the ACPA or UDRP. Because the domain ownership already exists, filing for trademark or copyright at this juncture will provide no effect on the outcome. Furthermore, absent specific trademark or copyright infringement, the existing precedent is that courts will uphold the ownership of the domain name in the US. It's just an unnecessary black hole that you'd pour legal fees into in attempts to get control of a domain name that frankly just isn't necessary. Optimization along with all the existing content on the current "Pro-Touring.com" domain make any such efforts a crazy investment of time, resources and energy that will never return value. Like I said, I work with this stuff every day.