LOT, Inc. Idaho resident Mark Hampe cybersquats; attempt to cash in on trade-name leafBuilder created by John C. Sudds Post Falls Idaho
Mark Hampe, a Post Falls, Idaho resident cybersquats the trade-name leafBuilder which was created and popularized by John C. Sudds; Mr. Sudds is the founder of LeafsOfTalent.com. Apparently Mr. Hampe informed Mr. Sudds that the reason he has chosen to cybersquat (or pilfer) the common-law trademark leafBuilder is so that he can align the name with a Panama City, Panama based MLM company named Leaf International. It seems Leaf International was established in 2013.
Since Leaf International allows prospective members to join its network as marketers in order to gain significant payouts for website reviews Mr. Hampe felt the name literally coincided with Leaf International's mission statement in building opportunities and registered the name as his own domain name on Godaddy. Mr. Sudds has concluded that the name leafBuilder is so unique in its formation that Mr. Hampe's most likely means of discovering the name probably derived from stumbling across it on the internet in other marketing paradigms. Cybersquatters like Mark Hampe is becoming a major problem in countries around the globe.
This complaint helps to expose shady individuals like Mark Hampe and the businesses that they are linked to. It is Mr. Sudds' wish that Leaf International doesn't allow Mr. Hampe to put a cybersquatting face on its newly formed venture. If you are a law office and would like to pursue this case on a pro bono basis then please contact Mr. Sudds at (((REDACTED))) Write Mark at 1133 Stoneybrook Loop, Post Falls, Idaho 83854 and demand that he refrain from this kind of underhanded unethical entrepreneurial ploy as a means to make money.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
John Sudds (alias leafBuilder)
Irving,Texas,
Mark Hampe backs away from using the tradename leafBuilder for a Leaf International account
#2Author of original report
Sat, May 11, 2013
After corresponding with Mark Hampe on several occasions via email it seems the purported cybersquatter has backed down from using John Sudds' tradename "leafBuilder" to promote websites under a Leaf International, Inc. account. Leaf International, Inc. is apparently a company headquartered out of Panama City, Panama.
Mark has stated the following to John in an email, "to protect the business interest of Leaf International, I will immediately cease the use of the domain as a redirect to that business site until further notice by Leaf International legal."
Mark's decision to back away from using John's tradename as a domain name with Leaf International in and of itself an admission of guilt in that he knows he doesn't has a material right to the name. Mark is engaging in cybersquatting and should transfer the rights of the domain name to Mr. Sudds without further incident. Mark further stated that he purchased the name "free and clear" from Godaddy.com; however, now is the time for Mark to transfer the name because it's clear that he has engaged in some shady behavior.
Why I use the term shady is because Mark (for some irrational reasoning) is still trying to hold on to the domain name leafBuilder.com. I guess Mark's pride has him clinching on to leafbuilder.com until he's literally forced by the proper authorities to give the domain name. Again, Mark is strongly encouraged to do the right thing and transfer the domain name to John without further incident. Until Mark submit to what's right John (the founder behind leafBuilder "the brand") will be watching Mark like a hawk.
Below are some interesting content on cybersquatting:
Wiki Cybersquatting
Wiki Domain Parking as it relates to Cybersquatting
Content on trademarks and how domain names may infringe from the Law offices of Green and Green
Content from Legal Zoom on Cybersquatting