Buying a domain name from cyber-squatters

[craig.duncan]

We are interested in a domain name that is being squatted.

Has anyone had the experience of buying such a thing, and any suggestions on how to approach the negotiation?

Any idea what people are actually paying?

Thanks,

Craig

[Duane Raymond]

Hi Craig,

I've had to do this a few times.  The best/safest approach (unless you wish to go via the legal route)  is to go through a domain broker who not only will be a neutral third party to negotiate between you both and they ensure they get both the money and domain in their control when the deal is done (or don't release the money until the domain is in your hands).  I've used afternic before and it was OK. See http://www.afternic.com/domain-broker

As for amounts, I get it depends on the domain.  Working for a campaign a while ago I (they) paid $2k for 1goal.org - but this was a generic domain with many other potential uses. If it is domain squatting and a longer, less multi-use domain then you should pay much less.

Cheers,

Duane

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[Alexander Teleki]

Hi Craig,

I have paid up to $5K for a 4 letter domain, but that was down from an initial $15K price tag so don't hesitate to negotiate. If the domain you are after is very specific (for example an acronym that is being squatted just because it is short), sellers will usually drop the price quite easily. 

You can either use a domain broker or an escrow service (eg escrow.com) if the seller is not working with a broker. Also, if you are contacting the seller directly, you should get in touch with him anonymously.

Hope that helps!

Kind regards,

Alexander Teleki

[David McCreery]

Hi Craig,

If the domain is truly being squatted on, such as referring to a UN
entity but being used in bad faith, you DO NOT need to buy the domain.

WIPO (in Geneva!) operates a "small claims court" that for $1,500 USD
will investigate cases of squatting and turn the domain over to the
rightful owner. Their website publishes a list of all their decisions.
You can see that the decisions usally follow common sense and are in
plain English.

http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/

Example case: Grand Valley State University vs GVSU.com
http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisions/html/2006/d2006-0474.html

I'm pasting below a copy of the criteria that WIPO generally uses:

According to paragraph 4(a) of the Policy, for this Complaint to
succeed in relation to the Domain Name, the Complainant must prove
that

(i) The Domain Name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark
or service mark in which the Complainant has rights; and

(ii) The Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect
of the Domain Name; and

(iii) The Domain Name has been registered in bad faith and is being
used in bad faith.

Hope this helps.

Dave

[John Kirkwood]

Hi Craig,

UNITAID have managed to get hold of unitaid.org which had previously been agressively squatted for several years.

I'm not sure how they did it in the end, but I would hope that they could share some of their experience with you.

Cheers, and a Happy New Year to all on the Geneva Web Group,
John

Now in Ayr, Scotland, developing Python/Django applications to manage operational wind farms.
http://www.naturalpower.com