The Domain Scandal
Posted by: sdc10 on: May 24, 2008
Has anyone thought that they should go into business and just buy domains that sound like a good company name? Or, in the alternative and probably the more likely scenario, have you thought of the best name ever for your company, only to find out that some company in India owns the name until 2016?
Ah, the frustrations that go along with wanting to buy a domain name. I wish it could be easier. It’s almost as if these people hold the names for ransom. I know this was a big issue awhile back and you would think it has gotten easier but it would not appear to be that way.
What if someone who owns the domain name you want to buy asks you who you are buying it for? Are you legally obligated to tell them? The answer to that question is a definite no. The manner in which you want to use the name is none of their business. However, the flip side to that is there are situations where you might have additional rights to the name that supersede the current owners rights. In that instance, it might actually be beneficial to you to explain why you want the name and what actual rights you may have to it.
A domain name is becoming an even more crucial part of someone’s intellectual property portfolio and I highly recommend purchasing any applicable domain names as soon as possible. I just checked godaddy.com and they have a special for $9.99* a year (note the asterisk and read the fine print on the website). Better to have the name than to not. Did anyone see Dirty Rotten Scoundrels? There is a hysterical scene where Steve Martin is on the train with this woman trying to get a free lunch out of her and he quotes something his grandmother told him (trying to use the ‘ol grandmother trick to have the woman feel sorry for him) – “It is better to be truthful and good…than to not”. It is so funny but it reminds me of this situation. Better to buy the domain name…than to not. And fight for what is yours! Don’t let someone keep a domain name that you need to get!
2 Responses to "The Domain Scandal"
May 25, 2008 at 11:57 pm
John N – This is one of those situations where the law is on your side, but yet it still manages to place you amongst the dreck of society. Domain buying and real estate share a very weak common denominator at best–that of buying and selling. It is completely misguided to purport that registering domain names for the sake of holding people hostage in the future is anything like buying property as an investment opportunity.
How often to people sit down and decide the exact house they want and then go look for it? They don’t. They pick an area and begin looking. With domain names, it’s just the opposite. You come up with a name and then you go searching for it only to find someone else has it–not to use it, to sell it.
If you want to defend such practices, go right ahead, but just know that while the law may be on your side, karma is not.
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I’m Stephanie. Attorney at Law.
Let's make the law entertaining, shall we? 
May 24, 2008 at 3:25 am
I don’t think there is anything wrong at all if you hold a domain name and don’t want to sell it to someone, or want to get at least fair market value for the domain.
In real estate. would you demand that the parking lot owner sell you his parking lot at a lowball price because you want to put up a shopping mall there? It is the same thing with domain names, someone owns it and is free to do whatever they like with it. You need to give them a compelling reason to sell it to you.
The only exception being non-generic trademarked terms but that is not what we are talking about here i don’t think.
Let’s not put all domain owners in such a bad light. It is not a scam just because they thought of registering the domain name before you did. People should be rewarded for the foresight, money and effort that it takes to get good, generic domain names.