
Airbnb threatening me over my domain. Legit? - scottndecker
Received an email from &quot;Brandprotection@airbnb-mm.com&quot;.  Is this legit?  What happened to a free internet?  Is anyone really going to get confused between my site and airbnb.com?  What happens if I don&#x27;t reply and don&#x27;t change the domain?<p>&quot;To Whom It May Concern:<p>As you may know, Airbnb, Inc. is the owner of the well-known trademarks, AIRBNB  (Reg. No. 4884815)<p>itslikeairbnbforyourdog.com<p>As a trademark owner, Airbnb, Inc.is obligated to enforce its rights by taking action to ensure that others do not use its trademarks without permission, including in domain names.  Registration and use of domain names that are identical or confusingly similar to Airbnb, Inc.’s trademarks, without permission, could result in a likelihood of confusion among consumers.<p>In light of the above, we request that you respond to this e-mail within ten (10) days, informing us whether you have obtained rights from Airbnb, Inc.to register and use the domain name(s) itslikeairbnbforyourdog.com.  If so, please provide us with details as to who granted you such rights and when.  If not, please indicate your agreement to immediately stop using the Domain(s) and refrain from creating any new domain names using Airbnb, Inc. in any manner.<p>Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter.<p>Sincerely,<p>Airbnb Brand Protection&quot;
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tlb
Legalities aside, it's not a recipe for success to use another brand's name as
part of your brand. Lots of companies are like something for something else,
but they don't call themselves that. They create their own distinct identity.

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davismwfl
You are in the wrong here, you are "trading" on their registered mark and you
need to fix it. You cannot use another companies registered trademark this
way. If you mentioned airbnb in a marketing piece and had respected their
trademark in the material (e.g. shown it is theirs) then you'd be in a
different position. But this is almost a text book example of what not to do,
IMO.

Good thing is if you respond and say you are fixing it and give specifics with
a date, then I doubt this goes any further.

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ksaj
Look closer at the email address.

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davismwfl
I did, and I also did a whois lookup on airbnb-mm.com, which is registered by
Airbnb Inc. And if you go to the domain it redirects to airbnb.com.

*edit word and this, I did just check airbnb's site and it doesn't list that domain as one which would be a valid email domain for their consumer site information. But the whois and the redirect makes me think it is. However OP could forward the original message to report.phishing@airbnb.com and see what they say.

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davismwfl
FWIW too the whois for airbnb.com and airbnb-mm.com look identical. I
obviously had too much free time tonight.

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mtmail
If they don't send such noticed then years later somebody could claim they
don't enforce their trademark and thus can loose protection.

I'd say your use is sarcasm of the larger industry and protected use. A
hypothetical airbnb-sucks.com containing an anecdote could be protected as
free speech.

Looks like a pretty standard bulk email in a larger process (some clerk going
through hundreds of matches in an Excel table).

Airbnb could take the issue to court. Or file a motion with ICANN(?) or your
domain registrar to take over your domain. That means a third party will have
to establish if there's really 'likelihood of confusion among consumers'.
Clear no.

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scottndecker
Yeah, I've heard of Disney having to do similar things. Not allowing kids to
make home made tshirts with Mickey Mouse on them, etc or someone else could
claim they aren't defending it and do something worse.

Agreed it feels like a canned message and I'm tempted to ignore it since I
clearly have no ill intent towards Airbnb.

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gshdg
I’m not a lawyer. But as @mtmail points out, they’re legally obliged to defend
it even if they don’t give a hoot about your particular site. So if you ignore
it, they may have no choice but to pursue legal action - as in a lawsuit. That
could get expensive for you.

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staggy
Most likely if you don't respond _and_ they really want to shut you down,
they'll file a UDRP which will cost them $1500+. If they win the dispute, the
domain will be transferred to them.

Seeing as they are a well known company, you have airbnb in your domain and
your domain name even explains that you are familiar with their company, I'd
be very surprised if the domain wasn't ordered to be transferred to them.

If you look up UDRP cases involving AirBNB you should be able to get an idea
of the type of names they feel worthy of going after in UDRP. Some companies
go after anything moderately infringing where as others seem to be more lax.

~~~
staggy
I should have taken a look at your site before commenting on a likely UDRP
outcome.

I'm not a lawyer, but parody, satire etc... can be considered legitimate use.
It doesn't look like you are using it any commercial way, so, I'd say you do
have a case.

If a UDRP was filed, you'd have to decide how much work and money would be
worth defending it.

There is also a possibility in your case that they won't pursue it further
than the initial email.

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rvz
Someone else had the same email as you:

[https://californiaglobe.com/media/airbnb-threatens-
journalis...](https://californiaglobe.com/media/airbnb-threatens-journalist-
for-reporting-on-companys-racism/)

But this is the list of legitimate Airbnb domains:

[https://www.airbnb.co.uk/help/article/971/how-do-i-know-
if-a...](https://www.airbnb.co.uk/help/article/971/how-do-i-know-if-an-email-
is-really-from-airbnb)

Therefore,

This one is 100% fake.

~~~
davismwfl
I seriously doubt this is fake, the airbnb-mm.com domain is owned by Airbnb
Inc and they have every right to stop the improper usage of their registered
trademark. A domain name is a different animal than just using their name in
an article, which is fair use and free speech -- assuming you leave the mark
in place or attribute it properly.

IANAL but the author of that article you linked is wrong from what I
understand. A domain name has been enforced in the past as a violation of the
mark and is not the same as free speech. It is of course up to the company to
enforce it and take action. They may choose not to based on circumstances but
they will send out the form letter at minimum to show they worked to enforce
it.

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gradschool
This email doesn't pass the smell test. A nameless sender claims to be acting
on behalf of Airbnb but is asking you rather than telling you whether you're a
party to an agreement with it. The writing is clumsy and contains a split
infinitive. I predict that if you ask for confirmation by surface mail on the
firm's letterhead you'll be waiting a long time.

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codegeek
You should not using airbnb in your domain name. That is trademark
infringement. Also lot of people here are saying that airbnb-mm domain looks
fishy. It is not unless they have hacked airbnb itself since it redirects to
the airbnb.com domain. Also whois shows the same information.

~~~
gshdg
You can redirect domain A to domain B if you own domain A but have nothing to
do with domain B. That means nothing.

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ksaj
Trademarks are trademarks. But, scammers who want to steal the domain from you
are scammers...

Do a lookup on their domain and compare the results. If still unsure, email
air b'n'b's actual support and ask them if that email address is legit.

...without necessarily pointing out your domain... why open two cans of worms?

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bifrost
I think they've got you TBH. airbnb is literally in your domain name. It'd be
different if it was in marketing materials/etc but its in your domain name...

If you'd registered "itslikeabnbforyourdog" you'd probably be in a lot less of
a predicament.

~~~
mtmail
[https://itslikeairbnbforyourdog.com/](https://itslikeairbnbforyourdog.com/)
is a single page with a couple of "It's like <company name> for your <other
word>." No product or business and imho no possible confusion with the airbnb
brand.

~~~
bifrost
If its got another company's name in the URL, you're already stealing brand
identity. Its not a good game to play.

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simple_phrases
Could be fair use, could be a trademark violation. I don't know because I'm
not a lawyer. Talk to one.

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quickthrower2
-mm? hmm!

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staggy
The mm stands for Mark Monitor. Most major corporations use Mark Monitor to
manage their domains and protect their intellectual property online. It is a
legit C&D email

~~~
quickthrower2
[https://au.godaddy.com/domainsearch/find?checkAvail=1&tmskey...](https://au.godaddy.com/domainsearch/find?checkAvail=1&tmskey=&domainToCheck=instagram-
mm.com)

~~~
staggy
Facebook doesn't use Mark Monitor anymore. I beleive they own their own entity
to manage their domains. RegistrarSafe

