Registering an "untaken" domain

DrJohnZoidberg

DrJohnZoidberg

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What is the general policy surrounding registering domains of a brand or business which may or may not have the same name as your organization?

The domain is available and I think the company is silly for not registering it long ago, can I just park it on my side and then sell it if they want it at a later stage? Or is this just nasty? :D

The business in question has plenty of money.
 
You can do so, no one's going to stop you, but if they ask you for it, you can't really refuse - because if they take you to court you will lose.
 
froot said:
You can do so, no one's going to stop you, but if they ask you for it, you can't really refuse - because if they take you to court you will lose.
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Yes I would most definitely lose in court, but 43c and not having to worry about renewal for a year it's a bargain :D
 
Its called domain squatting. Sometimes they'll play nice and offer you a couple of bucks for it...other times they'll take you to court :)
 
Domain squatting only applies if its a registered trademark. Otherwise its Domain Settling or Domain Speculation.
 
Hmm, I'll sleep on it. I would think it's a registered trademark (it's the name of a division/branch of a larger corporation).

Don't know if that 43c would be worth the effort if they are going to be bastards about it down the road.
 
Also there is the ZADNA dispute resolution system but its 15k or so to lodge the dispute and IIRC those aren't recoverable fees
 
Paul Hjul said:
Also there is the ZADNA dispute resolution system but its 15k or so to lodge the dispute and IIRC those aren't recoverable fees
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Hmm, that also led me to another page: http://www.domaindisputes.co.za/content.php?tag=7

Where some definitions of "Abusive registrations" are defined:

"Abusive Registration" means a domain name which either-
(a) was registered or otherwise acquired in a manner which, at the time when the registration or acquisition took place, took unfair advantage of or was unfairly detrimental to the complainant's rights; or
(b) has been used in a manner that takes unfair advantage of, or is unfairly detrimental to the complainant's rights;
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Maybe I should just e-mail them and tell them to register it. That would be "the right thing to do." :)
 
Probably

I haven't ever looked at it properly but as I understand it there is an unfortunate setup that if you are the person prejudiced by a registration it is expensive to get it back.
 
Paul Hjul said:
Probably

I haven't ever looked at it properly but as I understand it there is an unfortunate setup that if you are the person prejudiced by a registration it is expensive to get it back.
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Done. E-mailed them and told them to register it immediately. Let's see what happens and if they actually get the info to their IT department.
 
froot said:
You can do so, no one's going to stop you, but if they ask you for it, you can't really refuse - because if they take you to court you will lose.
Click to expand...

Which is why you should make your price just slightly lower than what it will cost them to take you to court.

Then everyone's a winner.
 
DrJohnZoidberg said:
Done. E-mailed them and told them to register it immediately. Let's see what happens and if they actually get the info to their IT department.
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If they do eventually register it, let us know what the domain was. I'm quite interested to know. :)
 
You should have just registered it, and had some advertising on the page, with a link to the company somewhere. Would have earned you something in the meantime, with no malicious intent
 
imranpanji said:
You should have just registered it, and had some advertising on the page, with a link to the company somewhere. Would have earned you something in the meantime, with no malicious intent
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I decided against it because I really don't feel like dealing with it when the time comes. I also don't want to be that douche that registers a domain just to be a douche, I've had this happen to me and I know what it feels like when somebody wants to sell back a domain to you for $300 just because they can.

Will let you guys know what the details are when I get word back.
 
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