QUESTION

How do we remove a old website owned by another? Our new business website is not our default website.

Asked on Mar 11th, 2018 on Copyrights - California
More details to this question:
Our non profit yacht club had a member set up and own our website. He no longer is a member but he still owns our old website which is our default website. Our new website is not our default website so when people inquiry about our club, the old website pops up on the screen. We have not control over that website and has old outdated information. What can we do legally so solve our problem?
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1 ANSWER

Counterfeiting Internet Trademarks Attorney serving Washington, DC at Roka IP Solutions
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The approach here would depend upon the situation.  You say the former member owned the website, but who owns the domain name, and do you need to own it?  You say when people inqure about the club, the old website pops up, but is that because the domain name is so similar to the name of the yacht club that it is coming up such that you should own the domain name?  If the former member owns the domain name, have you asked the former member to transfer the domain name ownership to the yacht club?  Once you own the domain name, you can build or transfer any website onto it.  Typically, folks have someone create a website for them to be placed at the domain name they own, but that doesn't mean that you lose ownership of the underlying domain name.  If you own the domain name, you can change the website that sits on it at will.  If the former member does in fact own the domain name and you want to own it, there are a few options, ranging from a non-adversarial transfer of ownership to a formal dispute proceeding, if you can show that the use infringes a trademark right of the yacht club, is being used in bad faith, and the former member has no legitimate interest in it.  It depends on former member's stance.  If you don't need to own the domain name but just want the website content that resides there removed, then if you have a good faith belief that it infringes your copyright, you can try a DMCA takedown notice to the host. DMCA agents will usually also take content down for trademark infringement, though the statute technically applies only to copyright infringement.
Answered on Mar 26th, 2018 at 10:42 AM

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