[SATLUG] OT: Getting an already-registered domain name

[John Chalinder]

There are, indeed, many domain name related scams going on; many of which fall 
between the legal cracks. Here is a list of the most common scams currently 
running:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_sniping
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_name_speculation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_parking
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domaining
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cybersquatting
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_name_warehousing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_tasting
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_domain_hijacking
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_name_drop_list

While there are a few laws that attempt to cover these practices, as with most 
dealings on the Internet, the shady characters who indulge in this sort of 
thing are clever, and unlike laws, there is no long process to slow them down 
from enacting their money grubbing plans. In the end, it is a matter of Caveat 
Emptor; Let the Buyer Beware. And, of course, there's the ever present problem 
of persuing lawsuits across jurisdictional boundaries and in countries who do 
not care about the laws of the rest of the world, so long as it generates 
massive revenue for their poor countries (note the prolifferation of 4.1.9 
Nigerian Scam,  most of which are run by 'prominent people' of that country).
Here are the current 'laws' regarding Domain Names:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anticybersquatting_Consumer_Protection_Act
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PROTECT_Act_of_2003

I'm reminded of an old Gypsy curse: “May you be involved in a law suit, in 
which you know you're right.”



On Wed, 28 Nov 2007 11:09:56 -0600 (CST)
  Borries Demeler <demeler at biochem.uthscsa.edu> wrote:
> What a scam! What URL did you search for the availability of the domain?
> If these guys are doing this to sell domain names, I think this should be 
> forbidden. I can think of all of us going to this search program and put
> in all kinds of plausible but useless sites so they will end up buying a 
>bunch
> of useless domain names and sit on it and waste their money. Looks like
> this outfit is in Berlin, Germany. Unless this is an incredible coincidence,
> I think they may be harvesting such searches. Also, when exactly did you
> do the search, was it a couple of days before they registered it?  Then
> there is an even greater chance these guys are running a scam (which may
> be legal!). I wonder if they are connected to the search site somehow or 
> if they own it, or if the search site doesn't even know about it, or is
> complicit. 
> 
> -b.
> 
> 
>> Hi y'all. I have a website design business (Kinsel Kreations), and I'm
>> planning on creating a website for my business with the domain name "
>> kinselkreations.com". In the previous months, I've checked on the domain
>> name to make sure no one was using it, and the times I checked, it was
>> available. However, I just recently decided to buy it, but when I made
>> another check for "kinselkreations.com", I found that it's been parked. :(
>> 
>> I did a whois on it, and it was registered 8/8/07 and expires 8/8/08. I
>> can't believe it.... And what's worse is that I remember hearing a while
>> back (although I didn't heed the info) about several stories of people
>> checking a domain name's availability, finding that it was available, and
>> soon after that discovering that the domain had been bought and parked. It
>> was rumored that the domain registering services run a scandal, per say, and
>> register domain names after they're searched for in order to turn a bigger
>> profit from customers who want to buy the registered domain name. This just
>> drives me nuts, because who in the world would think of creating a parked
>> domain name for "kinselkreations"? Kinsel is not a common name.
>> 
>> Anyways, do y'all have any advice? Have you ever negotiated a deal on an
>> already-registered domain name? And how does that work? Is it accomplished
>> with a single payment? How would they transfer the registration to my name?
>> 
>> Thanks for your time,
>> Matt
>> -- 
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