ACQUISITIONS CASE STUDIES

Save The Drama For The Big Screen

We were asked to acquire a domain name anonymously for a major motion picture studio that corresponded to the launch of their big summer blockbuster. The problem was, the blockbuster was scheduled to open in early July and the request came the last week in May. Another complication was that the registrant was located in Germany and did not speak our language. With the assistance of a translator, we were able to negotiate reasonable terms with the registrant without revealing our client's identity or intent and have the domain name transferred to the studio in a matter of days. The movie went on to break that summer's box office records.

Full Court Press

A team of patent attorneys (both in-house and outside counsel) for a major credit card company, engaged us to anonymously acquire the rights to a patent an inventor had filed for hotel room door keys. Upon examination, the application had been rejected twice by the USPTO and our client wanted to take control of the rights to the patent and the application process prior to the looming final examination date. We were able to strike a deal quickly with the inventor and his attorney and coordinated with our team on the intricacies of the purchase and license back agreements as well as to the royalty arrangements – all in time for our client to craft a new applicant that would pass muster.

All I Want For Christmas

An international entertainment conglomerate had their sites on a domain name owned by a Swedish resident that they wanted to use as a online shopping site for the Christmas holidays. We were under the gun to get the name before our client’s marketing department sent out a press release using the trademark in question. The registrant was cooperative but needed to consult with “his board” at every aspect of the negotiation. Through many persistent conversations with the seller over 4 time zones and much hand holding with the client, we were able to acquire the name in time for Santa.

Short And Sweet

Our client needed a three-character domain name on a rush basis, which is not typically a recipe for acquiring such a property at a reasonable price. The registrant was a reseller who was listing the name in the mid five figures. Fortunately we had purchased many other names from this reseller and were able to acquire the name for less than half of the asking price and transfer the domain to our client in a few days.

Fearing The Man

Our client needed rights to a trademark. The owner of the trademark had used the name in commerce for 15 years, lived in a small town, was set in his ways and had a fear bordering on paranoia that big business was out to get him. To add to our challenge, he had recently undergone triple bypass surgery. Each time we called the owner was either back in the hospital or dealing with a handyman problem, like a busted pipe in his store. In the end we found a compromise. We obtained the trademark rights for our client, but agreed (with our client’s blessing) to license back the trademark to the small business owner so he could continue to do business locally without changing his name.

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