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Domain Name Cybersquatting - HELP!

by rtrube
10 replies
Hello all!

So here's the situation. One of my new clients (offline) is having an issue with someone who owns the domain that is their company name.

The domain name owner (based in Sweden) registered it in 2000. The company (based in the USA) started in 2005. However, the current domain owner has never installed a website or any used the domain for anything - at least as far as we can determine with wayback searches.

I am not sure if going after them via ICANN will be beneficial, as the current owner registered the domain before the company was started... and is not responding to any communications.

Anyone have any thoughts or experience?
#cybersquatting #domain
  • Profile picture of the author travlinguy
    I'm not an expert but I don't think your client has a case. Having never used the domain isn't relevant. The only thing you might do is ask if it's for sale. Or, you can get an expert opinion and not trust people, like me, who offer opinions with no skin in the game. Good luck.
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    • Profile picture of the author rtrube
      Thanks for the quick response! That was kind of what I was thinking. They have tried to communicate, but have not been successful.... They are willing to buy it, but it's pretty hard when the owner doesn't respond....
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      • Profile picture of the author travlinguy
        Originally Posted by rtrube View Post

        Thanks for the quick response! That was kind of what I was thinking. They have tried to communicate, but have not been successful.... They are willing to buy it, but it's pretty hard when the owner doesn't respond....
        Years ago I let a domain go and regretted it almost immediately. It got turned into a Korean porn site. Problem was that I had that domain name on a book I'd published. Ugh. It took nearly 10 years before the owner stopped renewing it and two weeks ago I got it back.
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  • Profile picture of the author onSubie
    Also to have a claim the name must be a trademark, not just the registered name of the company.

    The company did not exist at the time the domain was registered. Although that is not always a consideration.

    Google "Nissan domain name lawsuit"

    A guy registered nissan.com before Nissan existed. When Datsun changed their name to Nissan they sued for the domain. It got long and messy.
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  • Profile picture of the author Tom Addams
    Your client has no leg to stand on. The domain was registered before his company came into being. Case closed.
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    • Profile picture of the author salegurus
      Originally Posted by Get Rich Methods View Post

      Your client has no leg to stand on. The domain was registered before his company came into being. Case closed.
      Not True at all.....
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      Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.

      ― George Carlin
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  • Profile picture of the author HelpingYouBeAnExpert
    More then 90% of domains are squated, the only way to stop it is to talk to legal and I guess they will walk you through trademark law (i'm no lawyer).
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    • Profile picture of the author jitu
      Hi,

      the 1st step i would suggest, is your company to get a trademark of their company name.

      once you get a trademark, then you have a better chance of getting your desired domain.

      they should also buy whatever available extensions of the domain name available.

      companyname.co
      companyname.org
      companyname.us

      and so on. this will help to avoid future problems and can be helpful to get trademark.

      use go daddy domain buy service, to get in touch with the domain owner, it costs $69 and some % of the sales amount.

      if the owner sells it for a reasonable price, then its fine, or else you can try to get the domain based on trademark ownership ( the trademark might be a bit difficult to get, but i have done it for my clients, so its possible without .com domain))

      Thanks,. let me know if you want more detailed info.

      Regards
      JK
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  • Profile picture of the author Gene Pimentel
    This is a pretty common situation, and the outcome heavily relies on trademark ownership.

    There are always lots of gray areas in these situations, and the outcome can depend on legal *interpretations* if it comes to that.

    Things to keep in mind:

    - The fact that the domain was registered long before your client started using the same name, is not enough of a factor to protect the first owner.

    - If your client's name is a publicly recognized brand, that is strongly in his/her favor, regardless the domain being registered earlier.

    - If your client does own the tradmark (whether officially filed or not), that is not enough to force legal ownership of the domain. A trademark can be owned by many different companies, if they are in different industries.

    - This is not a cybersquatting case. The owner fairly and legitimately owns the domain.

    - The fact that the current owner has never used the domain for a specific purpose, favors your client. This factor alone has been a strong argument for successful domain takeovers. Depends on the mood of the judge that day.

    In my opinion, unless your client is prepared to invest in an uphill legal battle, it's not going to be beneficial to pursue a takeover.

    Depending on how important to your client, it may be worth building a web persona/profile that would appear to be an individual with little working capital. Like a FB profile, personal website, etc. Use an email address and name that is attached to those, so they appear in search results. This is useful for negotiations, but naturally the buying process would reveal your true identity. But by that point, an agreed upon price would be had.

    An interesting tactic is to offer to "trade" domains with them, if you can get ahold of a domain name that THEY would strongly desire. Like a domain containing the very name of their main product (probably not applicable in this case), or their personal name, etc.

    Consider trading/bartering your client's product or service for the domain if feasible. This greatly reduces the cost to your client, but provides the retail value to the domain owner.

    Search Google for their email address, their name, their address, their URL, each in quotation marks. You can learn a lot about them by doing this, especially if you keep digging deeper as you discover bits of info.

    Go to NameBio.com and enter the domain in question, to see if there is a record of the domain being sold previously.

    Consider making a "Certified Offer" via Network Solutions. You remain anonymous, and the domain owner gets a GUARANTEED offer. (Certified Offer Service to Purchase Registered Domain Names | Network Solutions)
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  • Profile picture of the author Fun to Write
    If your client needs a website fairly quickly, I suggest explaining to the client that it's cheaper and faster to create a variation of the existing business name, or come up with a unique name that is memorable. Trying to obtain a domain registered to someone else, especially in another country, is going to be costly and time consuming. And, there's no guarantee that the domain will be transferred to your client, regardless of how much effort is put into it.

    Your client needs to consider what is most expedient and practical. You could offer to brainstorm alternative domain names.
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