Question For Knowledgeable Webmasters

[MattGFY]

Let's say you own the .com and .net versions of a domain. You owned the domains for over 10 years, and built them into a popular cam site. Then someone buys the .org version, and starts a whitelabel cam site. On the whitelabel they claim to be the .com version that you own. In their website description on all the pages, they claim to be the .com version, and in their meta data. Would this be legal?

[mrmister]

If they claiming to be the domain.com version I imagine it wouldn't be legal.

However owning an org version of your domain isn't illegal unless it's trademarked.

[fuzebox]

Which law are they breaking?

[dUbster]

I don't think you can do anything about it
You have to deal with the fact someone made a whitelabel cam site on a .org domain while yours are on .com and .net and the length of time you had those domains means nothing
In the end, they can claim whatever, do they really own the .com? nope! they can claim on their .org site that they are the .com version, which isn't breaking any laws

[mrmister]

When starting a project now I usually buy all 3 to prevent this from happening.

[MattGFY]

I'm not asking if legal for them to own the site. I'm wondering if it's legal to claim to be my site. In their descriptions and meta data they claim to be the .com I own.

[EddyTheDog]

Originally Posted by fuzebox

Which law are they breaking?

Yeah, its a shit thing to do but lying is not generally illegal - If they are pushing the same sponsor then maybe they can do something?..

[mrmister]

Originally Posted by MattGFY

I'm not asking if legal for them to own the site. I'm wondering if it's legal to claim to be my site. In their descriptions and meta data they claim to be the .com I own.

are they indexed in google? do they appear on first page when someone types in your site?

If so, i wouldn't worry too much. they can't do much without spending a ton on backlinks anyway, and you will always be #1

[fuzebox]

If you have not trademarked yourname.com... It's just two words, one of which is pretty damn common.

[MattGFY]

Originally Posted by mrmister

are they indexed in google? do they appear on first page when someone types in your site?

Yes, they are indexed. When you Google mydomain.com and mydomain they right under me. Their whitelabel is better then my api code site. So they probably spend there instead.

[mrmister]

Originally Posted by MattGFY

Yes, they are indexed. When you Google mydomain.com and mydomain they right under me.

Have you tried contacting them? I had this issue before, and emailing them just solved the issue. Some people use random domain generators now

Try emailing or some shit, cant hurt to try

[mrmister]

Originally Posted by MattGFY

Yes, they are indexed. When you Google mydomain.com and mydomain they right under me. Their whitelabel is better then my api code site. So they probably spend there instead.

All the users you've referred in the past are yours. There's no way to take them from you now I don't think

[plsureking]

what's your proprietary advantage? you say their site is better. maybe start there?

this is a very old problem. most companies in the early 2ks bought all 3 domains, but when they started offering dozens of tlds, it was difficult. then your only two options were trademark or being the best.

if you don't have a trademark, you have no chance of protecting your name.

i think you can fight it in court if you have the money and time, but you'd have to convince the judge that your brand has value. a whitelabel is your name on someone else's content. i don't think you have any IP to protect.

your only option is to be better than them.

#

[MakeMeGrrrrowl]

Originally Posted by fuzebox

Which law are they breaking?

Wouldn't it be fraudulent to claim to be the owner of both sites and products? That in itself is not a crime, but money earned should be and turned over to the proper owner.

[Publisher Bucks]

Originally Posted by MakeMeGrrrrowl

Wouldn't it be fraudulent to claim to be the owner of both sites and products? That in itself is not a crime, but money earned should be and turned over to the proper owner.

Thats a case of civil vs. criminal.

[Brian mike]

Originally Posted by MattGFY

Yes, they are indexed. When you Google mydomain.com and mydomain they right under me. Their whitelabel is better then my api code site. So they probably spend there instead.

There is one old trick that shoud work in this case ..... I just Pm you!
When people play dirty, There is always a solution right around the corner

[zawali]

it is not legal, if this bother you try to contact the company from which he registred the domain (for example godaddy) tell them that this person is pretending to be you and of course they will take serious action and suspend his domain name, in case his site is already ranked well on google you can profit from this and tell the registrar that you are willing to buy the domain.

[mrmister]

Originally Posted by zawali

it is not legal, if this bother you try to contact the company from which he registred the domain (for example godaddy) tell them that this person is pretending to be you and of course they will take serious action and suspend his domain name, in case his site is already ranked well on google you can profit from this and tell the registrar that you are willing to buy the domain.

That isn't happening

[DVTimes]

Originally Posted by MattGFY

Let's say you own the .com and .net versions of a domain. You owned the domains for over 10 years, and built them into a popular cam site. Then someone buys the .org version, and starts a whitelabel cam site. On the whitelabel they claim to be the .com version that you own. In their website description on all the pages, they claim to be the .com version, and in their meta data. Would this be legal?

I would have thought it would be like buying the .org of mcdonalds and selling burgers.

If the .org was a family name or a book shop for instance, then it would have to be fought in court, as small businesses have won against big businesses.

However it may be a case that you have to register your business name and so on.

A lot of this is going to be down to how much cash you make and what impact the .org has on your sites?

For instance if your site is making less than a few thousand regardless, then, it may not be worth the grief.

If the .org has little effect then perhaps again it is not worth the bother.

Is your site a white label or is it your own system, and if it is your own system, then is the other site promoting a different webcam business.

One thought (not sure if anyone has suggested it is you could contact the webcam site they promote and inform them that you feel this is not right and that they should stop payments to that .org site/affiliate.

[TurboB]

The only way is to trademark your brand and sue them.
If your brand is not trademarked it is legal to register same name domains in other extensions and use it in same niche.

[V_RocKs]

It is perfectly legal.

This is why you should trademark your domain name. Once you get the mark you can them use that to send the company they white label with a strongly worded letter and they will cancel the WL ASAP.

You can also use it to stop them from even having any site having to do with cams. Speaking from experience.

[mrmister]

Originally Posted by DVTimes

I would have thought it would be like buying the .org of mcdonalds and selling burgers.

If the .org was a family name or a book shop for instance, then it would have to be fought in court, as small businesses have won against big businesses.

However it may be a case that you have to register your business name and so on.

A lot of this is going to be down to how much cash you make and what impact the .org has on your sites?

For instance if your site is making less than a few thousand regardless, then, it may not be worth the grief.

If the .org has little effect then perhaps again it is not worth the bother.

Is your site a white label or is it your own system, and if it is your own system, then is the other site promoting a different webcam business.

One thought (not sure if anyone has suggested it is you could contact the webcam site they promote and inform them that you feel this is not right and that they should stop payments to that .org site/affiliate.

I don't see cam companies stopping payments. Especially if that guy makes them a ton of money. I've seen cam site ads on blatant pirate sites. They just care about money

[DVTimes]

In their website description on all the pages, they claim to be the .com version

you may have a case with this.

but then again if they are not in the same country as you, then legal action may be very difficult and expensive.

layers have a tendency to take your case even if you have next to no chance of winning

look at ****** harry where the judge has thrown out part of his case

it may be he or she is breaking some law in your country or even local advertising rules or whatever.

for instance in the uk we have trading standers, and it could be that in your country you have such a body, and may be worth asking them if this website is breaking any rules by misleading people.

[DVTimes]

Originally Posted by mrmister

I don't see cam companies stopping payments. Especially if that guy makes them a ton of money. I've seen cam site ads on blatant pirate sites. They just care about money

Probably not, but an email costs nothing.

It may be worth sending them an email saying you feel that the affiliate is making money on the back of your site and you are posting about it on gfy.com.

A representative may consider that being associated with a site in bad faith may look bad on gfy.com.

Plus I would check what there rules are as they may have rules for affiliates about this.

[el_mago]

Thank God registered bar official gfy lawyer stepped in to advise you on this.

"you may have a case with this."

Don't worry the domain will be taken down in no time now that dvtimes has provided his official statement

[mrmister]

Originally Posted by DVTimes

Probably not, but an email costs nothing.

It may be worth sending them an email saying you feel that the affiliate is making money on the back of your site and you are posting about it on gfy.com.

A representative may consider that being associated with a site in bad faith may look bad on gfy.com.

Plus I would check what there rules are as they may have rules for affiliates about this.

One of the most popular sites on the internet blatantly links to pirate sites and benefits from it yet he's alive and kicking with cam sponsors and also posts on here :D
Id argue they don't care one bit

[DVTimes]

Originally Posted by el_mago

Thank God registered bar official gfy lawyer stepped in to advise you on this.

"you may have a case with this."

Don't worry the domain will be taken down in no time now that dvtimes has provided his official statement

oh such wit

my sides doth split

[MattGFY]

My site is custom api code with Chaturbate whitelabel cams. I promote Stripcash with banners on my site. The site makes around 200k a year. The site in question is a Stripcash whitelabel. They claim to be mydomain.com on every page in site description and in their meta data. So they rank for mydomain.com. I contacted Stripcash and they won't respond by email. I talked to one of their affiliate managers on Skype. They said they will do nothing.

[dcortez]

Originally Posted by MattGFY

Let's say you own the .com and .net versions of a domain. You owned the domains for over 10 years, and built them into a popular cam site. Then someone buys the .org version, and starts a whitelabel cam site. On the whitelabel they claim to be the .com version that you own. In their website description on all the pages, they claim to be the .com version, and in their meta data. Would this be legal?

No one really "owns" a domain - they license it.

But you can trademark your proprietary monikers. eg: "MyOriginalCamParadise", "My Original Cam Paradise", and some try "MyOriginalCamParadise.ext".

If you have developed your trademark "MyOriginalCamParadise", then any attempt to register any domain ext with your trademark can be challenged.

Generally, removing dependency on an actual extension (.com, .org, .whatever) broadens your legitimate IP claim.

[2MuchMark]

Originally Posted by MattGFY

Let's say you own the .com and .net versions of a domain. You owned the domains for over 10 years, and built them into a popular cam site. Then someone buys the .org version, and starts a whitelabel cam site. On the whitelabel they claim to be the .com version that you own. In their website description on all the pages, they claim to be the .com version, and in their meta data. Would this be legal?

It's not illegal, but it doesn't mean there's nothing you can do about it. If I were you, I would do this:

1. Document the Infringement: Start by collecting evidence of the infringement, including screenshots of the website, its content, any correspondence or communications with the infringer, and any evidence of confusion or misrepresentation.

2. Contact the Whitelabel provider and explain your concern. Be polite and provide them with all of the screenshots and other evidence you have. It is not in their best interest to work with bad actors. What you may be able to do is convince them to stop working with that person until they use a domain name that does not infrige on your intellectual property.

3. If #2 fails, File a complaint under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) through a recognized dispute resolution service provider, such as WIPO. The UDRP process is designed to resolve disputes concerning the registration of internet domain names.

Good luck!

[CurrentlySober]

i dunno i just lik poo...

[JustBiz]

Originally Posted by CurrentlySober

i dunno i just lik poo...

ilikepoo.com => offers accepted
ilikepoo.net => going cheap
ilikepoo.org => going plop

[Colmike9]

That kind of thing used to make me a lot of money until Google decided to be assholes and change EMDs in 2013..
Some companies allow it, some hate it.

[Speigelau]

Originally Posted by JustBiz

ilikepoo.com => offers accepted
ilikepoo.net => going cheap
ilikepoo.org => going plop

I registered ilikepoo.biz and copied all three, I know it's a shitty thing to do.

[JustBiz]

Originally Posted by Speigelau

I registered ilikepoo.biz and copied all three, I know it's a shitty thing to do.

Was hoping CS would brand the other TLDs before swooping in with the .biz takeover. ^^

Better man beat me to it.

Poop is serious .biz.

Shitty ain't pretty. :=P

[mrmister]

Originally Posted by JustBiz

Was hoping CS would brand the other TLDs before swooping in with the .biz takeover. ^^

Better man beat me to it.

Poop is serious .biz.

Shitty ain't pretty. :=P

I swooped the .live and .one extensions. They rank better than biz anyway :D

[JustBiz]

Originally Posted by mrmister

I swooped the .live and .one extensions. They rank better than biz anyway :D

ilikepoo.ai is where the future was at!

[CurrentlySober]

I don't mind - the more people that like poo the better, I say !

It's NOT 'Competition'... It's 'Poomotion'

[Speigelau]

Originally Posted by mrmister

I swooped the .live :D

Scat cams? As gross as it sounds, it would probably sell if they existed. Well at least you'd have one whale, that resides around here.

[Vendzilla]

And this is why xxx domains worked so well, corporate America would buy the xxx at exorbitant costs to protect their brands, full fledged rip off

[emmasexytime]

there are many porndude sites too

all just copies owned by others

how is the .org site ranking?

name only? or other money terms?

Have you build a brand from your name?

[MattGFY]

Whoever is doing this is doing it to many webmasters including some big players like MyFreeCams. Stripcash letting him blatantly steal other people's trademark and approving all his whitelabels. He owns sexcams7.com. Go to the bottom of his page and see if your website is on there. Get your lawyers on retainer. When your lawyer is done send him my way. I got a few thousand I want to piss into the wind.

[bns666]

unless you own the copyright for a brand for your own .com there's nothing much you can do.

and that thing with using other tlds from successful cam sites of any kind as another program's wl is going on for 10yrs+.

[MattGFY]

Originally Posted by bns666

unless you own the copyright for a brand for your own .com there's nothing much you can do.

and that thing with using other tlds from successful cam sites of any kind as another program's wl is going on for 10yrs+.

I understand this. My trademark hasn't been approved yet through the US trademark office. It takes up to a year. So I wasn't trying to seize any domains. I was just trying to get StripCash to do the right thing, and make them change the wording on their site, instead of letting them claim to be my site. I know losers have been doing this for years, but not to me.. Believe me there is something I can do about it. I don't care if it costs me 50 grand. I'm doing something about it.

[baddog]

You might look at the requirements to get a .org domain. Seems like the easiest route

[Vendzilla]

Originally Posted by MattGFY

Let's say you own the .com and .net versions of a domain. You owned the domains for over 10 years, and built them into a popular cam site. Then someone buys the .org version, and starts a whitelabel cam site. On the whitelabel they claim to be the .com version that you own. In their website description on all the pages, they claim to be the .com version, and in their meta data. Would this be legal?

Contact them and offer them a white label from your cam company with a better rate than they are getting from your competition, just saying.
Instead of going to war, partner up.

[emmasexytime]

Originally Posted by MattGFY

Whoever is doing this is doing it to many webmasters including some big players like MyFreeCams. Stripcash letting him blatantly steal other people's trademark and approving all his whitelabels. He owns sexcams7.com. Go to the bottom of his page and see if your website is on there. Get your lawyers on retainer. When your lawyer is done send him my way. I got a few thousand I want to piss into the wind.

wow!!!! they are going after all the most popular cam sites
although i don't see xrateduniversity.com, xxxratedchicks.com or pdcams.com there yet

[Brian mike]

Originally Posted by MattGFY

He owns sexcams7.com.

That site is build with Roboscript cam script ......

[mrmister]

Originally Posted by Brian mike

That site is build with Roboscript cam script ......

Yeah that's the site he's linking all his stripchat wl from. Check the footer

[mrmister]

Originally Posted by emmasexytime

wow!!!! they are going after all the most popular cam sites
although i don't see xrateduniversity.com, xxxratedchicks.com or pdcams.com there yet

Probably because xrateduniversity or xxxratedchicks show no organic traffic in semrush and aren't really cam domains

Pdcams is quite new but I'm sure it's time will come