Respond with the Help of a Good Attorney

One of the things I have learned over the years is that no matter how descriptive a domain name is, there is always the risk that a company will believe it has more rights to the domain name than an investor has. Sometimes, a company will start off by sending a Cease & Desist letter (C&D) to the registrant in an effort to scare the registrant into giving up the domain name for nothing or a pittance. This can be the first salvo in a long legal battle or it can be the last communication.

Responding (or not responding) to a C&D letter may depend on the situation. While it might be tempting to respond on your own, particularly in the case of a serious overreach, I think it is best to hire a good IP attorney with domain name expertise to evaluate the situation and come up with a best response (or non-response). An attorney might suggest how to reply or might be able to write a strong response if necessary, depending on the exact situation.

Logan Flatt shared a brief snippet about a recent situation he was in and gave thanks to attorney Jason Schaeffer for his assistance:

Thank you to domain name attorney, @TLDadvisor Jason Schaeffer, for helping me address a C&D from a large company about a domain that I won at auction only a week earlier. Jason crafted a one letter response that shut them down fast. They then paid full price for the domain!

— Logan (@LoganFlatt) September 23, 2021

Not only did Jason’s response get the other party to back off, but it helped to close a full-price deal. I don’t know the exact situation to comment on whether or not the company had a leg to stand on with their grievance, but it’s a pretty solid outcome for Logan and his company to get a deal closed.

Over the years, I have seen quite a few people mention C&D letters and other types of threats. Some people are combative with their replies and others simply surrender the domain name. Each situation is different, and I think getting legal advice from an experienced attorney is the first thing that should be done to get an unbiased evaluation of the situation and potential outcomes.