domain name laws

[Redline21]

Hey everyone, I have a legal question hopefully someone will know the answer to.

I am starting a new business and recently formed an LLC. This is an online business and I wanted to buy the .com address (I currently own the .net, .org, and .info)

A company which buys up tons of addresses and resells them currently has the .com address registered. They are refusing to sell the .com me to me. I have heard that businesses can no longer buy up addresses like this if the address doesn't pertain to their business. Thoughts?

[Adam]

It isn't a law. since domain names are international... ICANN enforces the policies on domain names, so they're the ones you'll have to deal with.

[Dani]

You don't have a -lot- of options, however having incorporated the company does give you some footing. You can attempt to get the site via ICANN as Adam suggested. If you have a legitimate business reason and the original owner doesn't, and is refusing to sell or asking an outrageous price, you can apply to be given the site.

This is to stop people doing things like buying iphone.com when they hear apple is creating a new product and then trying to sell to Apple for several million$ or exploiting their trademark.

Make sure you have registered yoru trademark name by the way! It will go a long way to helping your case.

As an aside I HATE, LOATHE AND DETEST those ad farm and address resellers. I have been cruising for good site names for months and at least 90% of my ideas already have an ad farm sitting on them or a $10,000 price tag. They chew up good site names and give nothing of real quality. They only make revenue because they have deadended someone and offer them a way out of their lame site via the ads. Which they then charge the company who they are advertising for.

It's like forcing someone down an alley, making them to look at a billboard and then charging the billboard owner for this person you forced into looking at an ad they have no real interest in, they just want to get away from you.

[Baltar]

Originally Posted by Adam

It isn't a law. since domain names are international... ICANN enforces the policies on domain names, so they're the ones you'll have to deal with.

It varies by country, but in the US it is enforced by a law: Anti-cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act. Cybersquatting is defined as "registering, trafficking in, or using a domain name with bad-faith intent to profit from the goodwill of a trademark belonging to someone else." The easiest option is to go through ICANN to resolve this, but if they fail to help you then you should be able to file a lawsuit under the ACPA against the holder of the domain. This is of course is only feasible if the holder is located in the US.

[da1prophet]

There are definitely ways to claim domain names that should rightfully be yours. As one of the previous posters noted, there is a dispute process through ICANN. And if you do have a legit claim to a name its not a case where they'll always side with the party with the deepest pockets--one of the more notable cases of this sort involved a dispute between the World Wildlife Federation and the World Wrestling Federation over the rightful ownership of the "wwf.com" domain. The Wildlife Federation won the right to use the domain which is the primary reason why the wrestling organization changed their name to the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment).

[Elenny]

I also dislike those ad farms gobbling up great domains for no good reason (but their own personal monetary gain), but I'm not sure if there's much Redline 21 can do here, especially if the business was incorporated much after the domain was first registered.

For example, if I decide to turn my domain into an ad farm, and next year someone else decides to start a company and name it "Elenny" and wants the domain "elenny.com"....should I be obliged to hand it over?

I feel for honest businesspeople everywhere who are going through this nightmare, but this seems to be completely different from cybersquatting.

Good luck Redline.