Aero Club, the aviation community and social network

[[email protected]]

Dear pilots friends
I've just opened an aviation social network, called Aero Club, you may
find some usefull free services:
Groups - to organize flying groups and students groups
Aero Photos - to share your aviation photos
and many others...
so, don't forget to join us!

Happy landings and happy new year...

Rocco Caruso
Aero Club
www.aeroclub.net

[John Mazor[_2_]]

> wrote in message
...
> Dear pilots friends
> I've just opened an aviation social network, called Aero Club, you may
> find some usefull free services:
> Groups - to organize flying groups and students groups
> Aero Photos - to share your aviation photos
> and many others...
> so, don't forget to join us!
>
> Happy landings and happy new year...
>
> Rocco Caruso
> Aero Club
> www.aeroclub.net

You're dangerously close to encroaching on established names. The Aero Club of America
was the predecessor of the National Aeronautics Association. More importantly, the Aero
Club of Washington at www.aeroclub.org still is an ongoing operation. Did you consult a
lawyer before settling on that name and a URL that differs only slightly from an
established, respected entity?

This may or may not be illegal, but it most definitely can be interpreted as an attempt to
exploit an existing name. It's not as odious as the attempts by individuals in the early
days of the Internet to claim "squatter's rights" by registering obvious corporate URLs in
the hope of selling them to the corporation, but you really ought to consider using a name
that cannot be confused with an existing website.

[[email protected]]

> You're dangerously close to encroaching on established names. *The Aero Club of America
> was the predecessor of the National Aeronautics Association. *More importantly, the Aero
> Club of Washington atwww.aeroclub.orgstill is an ongoing operation. *Did you consult a
> lawyer before settling on that name and a URL that differs only slightly from an
> established, respected entity?
>
> This may or may not be illegal, but it most definitely can be interpreted as an attempt to
> exploit an existing name. *It's not as odious as the attempts by individuals in the early
> days of the Internet to claim "squatter's rights" by registering obvious corporate URLs in
> the hope of selling them to the corporation, but you really ought to consider using a name
> that cannot be confused with an existing website.

Thanks for your advice, John.
I don't really want to be confused with Aero Club of Washington or
Aero Club de France www.aeroclub.com
I just want to set up an open and free space to share aviation
documents online and to create groups of pilots in any "real" aero
club. So I will soon add an "about us" page to describe how "Aero Club
aeroclub.net" was founded and how it works.

Rocco Caruso
Aero Club
www.aeroclub.net

[John Mazor[_2_]]

> wrote in message
...
> You're dangerously close to encroaching on established names. The Aero Club of America
> was the predecessor of the National Aeronautics Association. More importantly, the Aero
> Club of Washington atwww.aeroclub.orgstill is an ongoing operation. Did you consult a
> lawyer before settling on that name and a URL that differs only slightly from an
> established, respected entity?
>
> This may or may not be illegal, but it most definitely can be interpreted as an attempt
> to
> exploit an existing name. It's not as odious as the attempts by individuals in the early
> days of the Internet to claim "squatter's rights" by registering obvious corporate URLs
> in
> the hope of selling them to the corporation, but you really ought to consider using a
> name
> that cannot be confused with an existing website.

> Thanks for your advice, John.
I don't really want to be confused with Aero Club of Washington or
Aero Club de France www.aeroclub.com
I just want to set up an open and free space to share aviation
documents online and to create groups of pilots in any "real" aero
club. So I will soon add an "about us" page to describe how "Aero Club
aeroclub.net" was founded and how it works.

Be sure to post a conspicuous disclaimer on the home page as well as the "about us" page
that you have no relationship to ACoA or ACoW or ACdF. That doesn't totally resolve the
issue but it definitely would help in establishing your good-faith motives.

[James Sleeman]

On Jan 8, 8:21*am, "John Mazor" > wrote:
> You're dangerously close to encroaching on established names. *The Aero Club of America
> was the predecessor of the National Aeronautics Association. *More importantly, the Aero
> Club of Washington atwww.aeroclub.orgstill is an ongoing operation. *Did you consult a

If "Aero Club" isn't a common generic term, I don't know what is. The
thread starter's site is an (online) Aero Club and it has just as much
right to the domain name aeroclub.net as anybody else doing something
similar, in fact more so than those brick and mortar establishments
you presented as ".net" is ".network", for *international* network
organisations - which apparently is exactly what this new site is
planned to be.

If anything it's your examples which have silly choices for domain
names, as they are country specific entities and should by rights be
using an appropriate domain under thier ccTLD.

Besides, poster #1 is in Italy by his email address, he an quite
cheerfully throw any possble C&D from your examples in the bin, US
legal jurisdiction doesn't extend to Italy.

If aeroclub.org had wanted aeroclub.net as well then they should have
registered it, I'm sure they could have found the $10 somewhere.

[John Mazor[_2_]]

"James Sleeman" > wrote in message
...

> If "Aero Club" isn't a common generic term, I don't know what is.

I can't quite agree. "Aero Club" and the even more general term of "Aviation Club" are
used by several existing organizations. However, I wasn't trying to shut him down, just
make him aware of the situation. He seems to have taken it in the right spirit and
hopefully will post a disclaimer, which closes the matter for me.

> The thread starter's site is an (online) Aero Club and it has just as much
right to the domain name aeroclub.net as anybody else doing something
similar,

I never said he didn't.

> If anything it's your examples which have silly choices for domain
names, as they are country specific entities and should by rights be
using an appropriate domain under thier ccTLD.

But they don't, so there is the possiblity of confusion. Many users don't even know the
difference between aeroclub.org, aeroclub.com and aeroclub.net ,or what the country
designators mean.

> Besides, poster #1 is in Italy by his email address, he an quite
cheerfully throw any possble C&D from your examples in the bin, US
legal jurisdiction doesn't extend to Italy.

I wasn't threatening legal action or even reporting him to an abuse mailbox.

> If aeroclub.org had wanted aeroclub.net as well then they should have
registered it, I'm sure they could have found the $10 somewhere.

Commercial corporations know from experience to do that to protect their brand. The
potential for confusion (deliberate or otherwise) probably never even crossed the minds at
the Aero Club of Washington or the French one, and they probably don't even care. (If
they did, there'd have been lawsuits between those two and the loser would have had to use
a different URL.) I was addressing the confusion that might be created in the minds of
viewers. A simple disclaimer takes care of that.