It seems UPS doesn't really have a case against you but if it comes down to battling them in court I have a feeling their pocketbook will outlast yours. Sorry to be pessimistic; I'd love to see "the little guy" win.

This is the thing I hate about big companies. They can win cases just because their pocketbook is bigger. They have absolutely no case here. This is n't even close to cyber-squatting.

i'd be like..."Show Me the Money!"

Pull a france, surrender

Let UPS have it. Site sucky.

greenjem.com will be open in a couple more weeks. ;)

Larry

tell them to grab a spoon and eat your ass.

UPS has absolutely no reason to claim bigbrown.com. It's yours, dude. Fight them as long as you can. And pay your next 5 years worth of registration in advance, now, if you can, so they can't squat on it when renewal time comes around

Use the "My dick is big and brown" defense!

Make em pay and send the check via FedEx. bastids.

Tell them to FARK OFF, then ask for $1,000,000

He has had the site registered under his name since August 11, 1997

Register bigbrownturd.com and just redirect it.

Tell them to save their money on lawyers and ask how much it's worth it to them. (fark lawyers)

Trade them the domain for a truck and a uniform. Then, go drive around in the truck picking up packages, hillarity will ensue!

Or, you could use the truck for drive by's - maybe the stock will plummet. No sweeter revenge my friends!

Show them what bigbrown.com really should stand for...
on a UPS box...

there is a pic on his website that has photoshop written all over it

Don't sell out.

Give them that URL, but at the same time register www.bigbrownsucks.com or www.ups_ships_drugs.com, and let the hilarity ensue !

Maybe UPS should do some marketing research to find out that "bigbrown" makes 99.9% of all people think of a nice big bowel movement, and not of their services.

I drive near a UPS facility on my way home from work and have to avoid reckless UPS trucks all the time.

I would be happy to flip them off for you.

Also, get a lawyer and you might just make some serious dough.

Tell them you'll sick Bloomingdales on their a$$:

what the hell is up with the long list of webcam pics on the site, thats just gay

There's a decent chance that the Electronic frontier foundation might be willing to help out pro bono.

I visited your site; usps is absolutely full of shiat.
They have zero case, and I highly doubt that they'll actually sue you over it.

As long as you haven't done anything like sending them an email saying "hey, I have bigbrown.com, which you might want; it's yours for a mere 50k" or whatever, you could probably even defend yourself in court and still win. Hey, a linux guy should have enough experience RTFMing that a little legal research should pose no problem. findlaw.com for case law, Code of federal regulations should help on statutory stuff. Congress has done little; most of the non case law has come from regulatory bodies.

And anyway, if they DO still sue, I would countersue (even in small claims, where you don't need a lawyer) for all the time and expense you had to put into defending what's yours. It might just be easier, unfortunately, to give up and get bigbrown.org or something like that, but you've had the domain for a long time, you've obviously got a site of personal content there that looks like it's been there for a while, so they're going to be SOL with some kind of goofy squatting charge.

I'd look for relevant caselaw but I don't have time (since there isn't much yet)...

A better option though would be to contact eff; they will have better suggestions for what you can do.

Good luck, and don't let The Man get you down. ;)

feh. split the money 50-50 with me and I'll have my team of lawyers represent ya.... *grin*

http://www.statlab.iastate.edu/soils/osd/dat/B/BIGBROWN.html

apparently UPS may not be the only one after his site.

Makes some people think of both...

I agree with the above person saying you should try to sell bigbrown.com to UPS for an exhorbitant ammount of moola. I'll bet they'd pay and if they balk, fight as long as possible. They have no case as the registration date precedes UPS's ad campaign be years. UPS sucks anyway, those bastards park their trucks in the middle of streets like they own everything. And the smash your packages. I have yet to receive one undamaged package via UPS. Fark 'em!

While they might have the big bucks and lawyers, any greedy lawyer (and I personally would use a greedy lawyer) could win your case and then countersue.

Offer to settle for a million now, but if it goes to the countersue point, jack it up to five or ten.

Point being, at this time they know damn well that they would lose, but have to harrass you anyway because of trademark law.

They could very well lose the trademark, point that out repeatedly.

Offer to rent them the name for a nominal fee. Like 1% of monthly gross.

Tell them you'll sick Bloomingdales on their a$$:

DO NOT ASK THEM FOR MONEY. Please.

In the few cases that have been adjudicated on this kind of thing so far, a request for money by the accused squatter has usually been seen as evidence that squatting was their intention all along, and that's when they're forced to hand over the domain. Tell UPS to go to hell, get a lawyer if you can, but don't offer to sell them the domain. If they want it badly enough they will offer to buy it sooner or later, as long as you don't suggest it first (because thats when they know you just want cash, and will bully you with lawyers instead of buying).

If you go to his stat page(www.bigbrown.com/hits/yesterday.html) Look who made the most common visitors list, longshot.ups.com. Guess they even know they don't stand a chance.

Pretty strange web site - I say let UPS have it. BTW - Did Dad tell you what he wants for Christmas?

WWW.CHILLINGEFFECTS.ORG

By the EFF...the only reason its there is for people like you. I do advise you NOT to ask for money or say that you will sell it to them. That could, in fact, get you into trouble should it go into court. They then have the argument taht you bought it for the purpose of cybersquating. Just sit tight and you should be cool.

Ive given the guy who runs Bigbrown an lawyer contact that i have. They specialize in "fields of licensing disputes, misappropriation of trade secrets, copyright and trademark infringement and anti-competition matters, with a particular emphasis on information systems and internet businesses. " Hopefully they can help him out.

Or perhaps UPS has hired them to send the letter. Eek.

They have absolutely nothing on you. Even their big pocketbook can't really help them- the lawyers assumed that you would just fold up and die without understanding the law regarding trademarks and cybersquatting. As it is, all you should have to do is throw a little legalese back at them, and they should back off. If they continue, retain a lawyer (with a case as open- and- shut as yours, you'll get one to take it on contingency easily) countersue, and then buy a nice, new BMW and a server upgrade for bigbrown.com!

Well, I agree with the above post. EEF might go pro bono. Otherwise, again I agree with an above post -- it is very likely that they're hoping you'll either not contest or that your money will run out first. Sucks something fierce, but I wish you the best of luck...

another example of the bigbrown man trying to keep whitey down!

I don't know a damn thing about domain legalities, but I've fought "the big guys" a couple of times in my life. Lost both times, with no regrets. Get a bead on what your truth is and stick with it. Integrity: it makes for good sleeping at night.

Hey I'm a trademark attorney. Write to me at the address in my Fark profile. I'll reply from my work account. Free advice, maybe even free representation, depending on the work involved, etc. This is legit.

I have to agree with Grand High Took in getting EFF involved if the case does indeed go to court. These guys have lawyers that know thier shiat when it comes to companies trying to bully people into giving up their domain names. UPS in asking you to turn over your name mainly because they know they will lose in court since you've had this domain registered for years and are using it in a legal manner. I would first, however, ask them how much they are willing to buy the domain from you for, because they will most likely offer you something for it. I wouldn't expect millions, but if they are going to be promoting the hell out of the trademark "Big Brown" (which reminds me of what sits in my toilet after a long night of drinking and mexican food), then they will also be willing to pay for the domain attached to it. Good luck and don't let these corporate bastards bully you around. FARK EM!!!

In the cases where domain holders have "asked for the cash" they have been cases where the domain name is clearly a copyright infringment. (Like making the arguement Macy.com was cause you like William Macy)

But since Bigbrown isnt the name of the company but the name of the current tag for the advertising campaign, they don't have a good case. They would have to prove that Big Brown couldn't reasonably be associated with anything BUT U.P.S.

According to the lawyers I talked to, the correct answer might be "fark you very much, UPS". I used to own ALASKAUSA.COM, and the lawyers from Alaska USA Federal Credit Union contacted me and said it was theirs. I received cease and decist order, and some other mutipage docs from their lawyers.

The next week, I put it for sale on bestdomains for $18,000. They said no way to buying it, and didnt pursue their litigious threats. It made the front page of the Anchorage Daily News. You can search the electronic archives of adn.com for "alaskausa.com".

that is complete bullshiat. No way in hell this guy is infringing on their trademark. Fight the power and call a lawyer.

Greek: you clearly haven't heard about the whole etoy debacle, among the many other cases of giant corporations bullying individuals and smaller companies out of domain names that are rightfully theirs.

Seems you had the site long before the ad campaign started, so they probably don't have a leg to stand on in court; but lawyers will cost big $$.

The ad campaign sucks and I would guess UPS will drop it soon. Sell fast and cheap while it has some value.

CALL LEONARD CRABS!!!

I suggest asking credentials from the people giving you advice, before listening to any of it.

... and for this my credentials are common sense.