Legal action threatened

[rainman]

I have recently set up a website after finding a vacant domain name suitable. That domain name is www.example.com (domain hidden). I rank second in the SERPS to the Ltd Company’s official website www.example.co.uk. My website sells items via the Amazon affiliate programme.

The company has contacted me asking me to take down my .net website because they are a wholesaler that does not want to display that they now retail their products. The company wholesale via trade shows and has a lot of retailers selling their products in the high street and online. They activly promote people selling their stock as all wholesale businesses do.

email I received quote:
[quote] As it stands your site implies that we, www.example.co.uk Ltd, are setting up in competition with our own retailer customers and selling direct to the public, which would not be good for us! [end quote]

After being contacted by the Ltd company, I told them I would make it absolutely clear that I was one of their retailers in my Terms and Conditions, on the homepage text and in the about-us page. Nothing at all implies that I am the official wholesaler.

I have not yet heard back from them but I'm sure I will soon. It would not be worth a court appearance for the money I make via Amazon selling their products but I don't want to be bullied off without giving a fair fight from my corner!

Does anybody have any experiences relating to my dilemma that could guide me?

[SteveGerencser]

Generally, using someone elses name never ends well.

[rainman]

Should I just scrap the domain now and save myself some worry? or fight my corner?

[weegillis]

Offer to sell them the domain, and move on, might be the best strategy. In these types of cases, the older and bigger always win. Better to get a fair settlement than give up everything to put up a fight. Then again, I'm no lawyer, and today seem to be way off my marks. So a grain of salt would go good here.

[aditd]

Some one told me that they are a register domain owner of one of my domains and to let them have it. I passed this step and nothing happened.
The idea is like this is hard to sell a car without telling it's name. My point is that if you sell under their name, their products ... nothing wrong with that. So you have to see what is exactly their problem. What do they want.
From what I see is written in their email their request ... that seems resolved by you.
You should wait ( even re-email them if everything is ok now with them ) for their response.

[deepsand]

My point is that if you sell under their name, their products ... nothing wrong with that.

To the contrary, there is something very much wrong with that.

Using the business name of another for purposes of selling what that other sells definitely creates confusion in the marketplace, which is a primary consideration in deciding who has rightful claim to the name.

If in the OP's case the other owner takes the matter to ICANN, he could very easily loose the variant that he has begun to use with no compensation or recourse.

[rainman]

Thanks for all your replies.

Update:I have taken steps to add their URL onto my home page. I have also added disclaimer text with a link back to their wholesale business.

These steps have appeased them thankfully. The communications have been amicable.

My advice to anybody experiencing similar problems is try to be polite and undertstand their point of view as if it was your business. Together you can both exist so long as threats do not take the problem off topic.

[weegillis]

Congratulations on reaching a peaceful and 'amicable' resolution. Very well done. Now get back to work! Closing this thread, unless OP has more to add.