This letter is being written to you on behalf of Yahoo! Inc. (“Yahoo!”). Yahoo! is the exclusive owner of all trademark and other intellectual property rights in and to the YAHOO! and Y! trademarks (the “Trademarks”), including the stylized YAHOO! and Y! logos. Yahoo! owns trademark registrations for the Trademarks. Yahoo! uses the Trademarks in connection with, among other things, its search engine services and online messenger services, and these marks have become firmly associated with Yahoo! in the minds of the public. Based on the foregoing rights, it is a violation of federal and state law for others to advertise, utilize, offer for sale, and/or engage in services in connection with the Trademarks without the express written permission of Yahoo!.
It has come to our attention that you have registered the below listed domain name(s) and are operating an active website at such domain name(s) :
yahooauctionstore.com
Your selection and use of the aforementioned domain name(s) creates the impression that your website is an authentic Yahoo! website, when in fact it is not. The Yahoo! name and mark is fanciful and strong and entitled to a broad scope of protection. There is no other reason for registering a domain name incorporating the Trademarks other than to trade off the established goodwill in the famous name and mark YAHOO!. Consumers are likely to be confused that the domain(s) is somehow associated with or sponsored by Yahoo! when it is not.
Your use and registration of the famous YAHOO! name and mark constitutes counterfeiting as well as infringement of Yahoo!’s trademark and service mark rights in violation of the Federal Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1051 et seq. and constitutes common law trademark infringement and unfair competition under state law. Your actions are also in violation of the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(d). Accordingly, you may be liable for up to $100,000 per domain name registered.
We therefore demand that you immediately cease and desist from infringing Yahoo!’s intellectual property. To that end, you must:
1. Immediately deactivate the website located at:
yahooauctionstore.com
2. Immediately cease using the famous name and mark YAHOO! and any other intellectual property owned by Yahoo! or any other intellectual property confusingly similar thereto on any other Internet web sites that you run, or otherwise in connection with your activities.
The demands herein are not made to the exclusion of other rights or remedies to which Yahoo! is entitled, and nothing in this letter, nor any act or omission by Yahoo!, shall limit those rights or remedies, all of which are expressly reserved.
Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. We appreciate that you may have been using the domain name, URL and or Yahoo! trademarks with the best of intentions and without full knowledge of the law in this area.
We consider this matter closed as long as your use of the domain name and/ or URL remains completely inactive for the remainder of the registration period. Please be reminded that you should not sell, offer to sell or transfer the domain name in the meantime.
