At some point, someone becomes angry at somebody or some company, or wants to make fun of either one. Some people create gripe sites (to air their gripe) or parody sites (to poke fun), many of which bears their name in the domain registration.
If the name happens to be also a trademark, some would consider filing either a lawsuit claiming trademark infringement or a Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) action against the domain’s owner. In some (if not all) cases, the main goal is to shut down the site.
Some fought back. One of them even documented the whole thing in full, which I’ll reveal later on.
Some don’t, especially if they either don’t really know how to fight back effectively or just can’t afford to. Can’t blame them.
But if you’re willing to take on the risk/s of putting up a gripe or parody site, I found some tips from a law group and a lawyer on the subject. Found them while I was checking my list of bookmarked law blogs.
Just two things about those sites:
1. Don’t necessarily take them as legal advice, neither of which profess to give anyway. Rather, they give tips based on their collective experience, much of which has also been upheld by supporting legal decisions.
2. YMMV or Your Mileage May Vary. IMHO or In My Honest Opinion, from what I’ve long observed and learned from lawyers tackling this, this pretty much depends on both you and the other party you’re dealing with, and how far both of you are willing to go.
On the side, if you ever need a domain-trademark lawyer, feel free to check my blog list of legal experts. I’ll certainly add more as time goes by.
It’s rather too lengthly to discuss them here, so feel free to check them out below:
Avoiding Gripes About Your Gripe (or Parody) Site
EFF’s Guide to Griping, Plus Some Recommendations of My Own
There is one main thing I’ll say about having a gripe or parody site, though, which both links above mention on their own. As much as possible, do not show any hint of commercial use.
By that, I mean don’t put anything on the site that’ll give the impression you’re trying to make money off it somehow. Not even ads, as lawyer Eric Goldman explained in his article I linked to.
By the way, the one I mentioned that documented their dispute entirely is Taubman Sucks. You can check it out here.
Enjoy!
