Buying an expired domain

[ildarius]

Is it possible that years down the road the previous owner will turn around and say: "hey this is copyrighted by me and I want it back" and you lose the domain?

Are there any good internet savvy lawyers you can recommend?

[dsmpublishing]

Ive never heard this one before - i have bought expired ones in the past and never had a problem at all.

kind regards


sam
X

[ildarius]

That's good to know, how many of these domains have you bought if you don't mind me asking?

[projek001]

Don't worry, they can't disturb you. You have all the copyright of the domain.

[autoglass]

Dosier internet law firm is excellent. I have had internet disputes before.. if they do not have a federal trade mark on the name, they are for the most part screwed.

[scarfeet]

as projek001 said you don't need to worry if you have bought it then you own all the copyright, but i'd like to mention something that happened to me few months ago ... I caught a few high PR dropped domains through my usual registrar (i think i am not supposed to mention company name here) and the very next day my registrar sent me an email saying that the registrar through which those domains were previously registered is telling them that those domains were dropped in error so i'll have to return them, they didn't ask for my permission and transfered the domain to the previous registrar and issued me a refund.

[derekwong28]

If there is a trademark on the keywords in the domain, there could be trouble. Not only could they ask you for the domain back, they could ask for damages.

[Anna Johnson]

Don't worry, they can't disturb you. You have all the copyright of the domain.

This is a great example of VERY BAD advice and, specifically why you should never ask for legal advice on (a) an Internet forum and (b) an Internet marketing (rather than legal) forum.

Without going into a detailed legal explanation, let's just say that copyright does not attach to domain names.

When it comes to intellectual property related domain name disputes the question is generally whether a trademark owner has the right to not just take a domain name from someone else, but often more importantly, to prevent someone else from using a given domain name.

Just because you have purchased an expired domain doesn't mean that a trademark holder can't dispute your rights to that domain... even if they are the one who let the domain name expire!

If you are concerned about a given domain name I'd definitely consult a law firm that specializes in domain name / trademark issues. This is not a matter to entrust to people on a forum with no expertise in intellectual property law, let alone trademark and domain name law.

[ildarius]

Originally Posted by Anna Johnson

If you are concerned about a given domain name I'd definitely consult a law firm that specializes in domain name / trademark issues. This is not a matter to entrust to people on a forum with no expertise in intellectual property law, let alone trademark and domain name law.

Good advice and exactly why I asked if people can recommend any good lawyers or law firms specialize in the subject matter, I'll try Dosier internet law firm and see what that gives.

Thank you for your advice everyone