Big changes coming to IKEAHackers

Updated 19 June: Read latest development (New talks).

I am afraid I have a bit of bad news.

Some months ago I received a Cease and Desist (C&D) letter from the agent of Inter IKEA Systems B.V., citing that my site IKEAhackers.net has infringed upon its intellectual property rights. In that letter they asked that I agree to voluntarily transfer the domain name IKEAhackers.net to them, failing which they reserve the right to take any legal action it deems necessary against me.

Long story short, after much negotiation between their agent and my lawyer, I am allowed to keep the domain name IKEAhackers.net only on the condition that it is non-commercial, meaning no advertising whatsoever.

I agreed to that demand. Because the name IKEAhackers is very dear to me and I am soooo reluctant to give it up. I love this site’s community and what we have accomplished in the last 8 years. Secondly, I don’t have deep enough pockets to fight a mammoth company in court.

Needless to say, I am crushed. I don’t have an issue with them protecting their trademark but I think they could have handled it better. I am a person, not a corporation. A blogger who obviously is on their side. Could they not have talked to me like normal people do without issuing a C&D?

IKEAhackers.net was set up in 2006 and truly not with the intent to exploit their mark. I was a just crazy fan. In retrospect, a naive one too. It is not an excuse but that was just how it was when I registered IKEAhackers. Over the last 8 years the site has grown so much that I could not juggle the demands of a full time job and managing IKEAhackers. It also costs quite a bit to run a site this large. Since IKEA® does not pay me a cent, I turned to advertising to support myself and this site.

Now by June 23rd, I would need to take down the ads, not earn any income and still advance their brand on this site. Wonderful!

That’s the story thus far.

And a crucial turning point for IKEAhackers. Now is the time I need your support most.

I will move this site to a new domain in time to come. I don’t have a new domain name yet so I can’t direct you to it immediately. But I do want to let you know when the new site is launched. Please help me make this possible by subscribing to my mailing list so that I can update you when it happens and you can still find all the useful hacks when you need to. Signing up is FREE.

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Most of all, no matter how the future of IKEAhackers turns, I want to thank you for being a part of this community. Because of your support over the years the site has grown to be what it is today – a community that I am really proud of. It is a joy for me to showcase your hacks and share your inspiration with the world.

The sign up link is here or you can use the form below. It takes less than a minute and will mean a lot to me.

Thank you and thank you.

As always,

