Claim of ownership (possible DRS)

[ian]

Interesting email this morning! Been contacted by a company claiming the domain I recently caught is theirs, and due to a technical error on their system, they failed to renew it.

They are being courteous about it so far (as they should), stating their claim, their trademarks (valid) and their ownership of all other extensions.

They've said they'd like to come to a "mutual resolution" otherwise they'll go down the DRS route. Whilst the domain is worth very little (certainly more than my time), the principle is that I registered the domain fairly and haven't done anything with it that would damage their trademark/name. Though I have promoted the name to a few companies (seemingly theirs included) as for sale, but I believe this isn't a breach of any Nominet terms of ownership.

If I start asking for money less than the DRS value, will they use this as evidence? Am I best asking them what they suggest is fair?

I won't mention the domain name for obvious reasons and would respect you guys to avoid doing so too, but what should I do.

 

[keys]

a few points to consider

Trademarks and ownership of of all other extensions supports their claim, as does your offering the domain for sale to them or their competitors

DRS will cost them £750 +VAT (£200 +VAT if you do not reply) plus their time and effort to prepare a case.

The outcome of a DRS case is rarely a certainty, so they may be unsuccessful.

Purchase of the domain assures a quick resolution for them at a known cost.

It would be financially prudent for them to pay £750 or less. Within that range you can suggest a price, or invite them to make an offer for the domain.

In the circumstances, you seeking a higher price would increase their chances of a successful DRS action.

 

[PoshTiger]

Yeah - I'd say the same..

If you don't think it's a premium, then just suggest something to cover your time and an admin charge and be done with it.

 

[Edwin]

Why did you register it? Was it a generic, or was the attraction the existing links to the company website? If the latter, and if it's non-generic I'd just hand it over to them...

If on the other hand it's a pure generic that this particular company just happened to do a good job buying up across various extensions, then the advice earlier in this thread to seek some kind of compensation looks good.

 

[ian]

Generic words, caught/registered because of the number of potential end users using the name. The domain has no previous evidence of use and no links etc.

Thanks all for the advice, I'll go back to them pointing out the associated costs of a DRS with no guarantee and see what they deem a mutual resolution to be.

 

[AssetDomains]

Generic words, caught/registered because of the number of potential end users using the name. The domain has no previous evidence of use and no links etc.

Thanks all for the advice, I'll go back to them pointing out the associated costs of a DRS with no guarantee and see what they deem a mutual resolution to be.

If its generic they wouldn't have much chance at DRS even with a trademark I think paramount is the only one that's gone in the favour of the holder and that was because the holder had advertising infringing the mark and didn't put up a great initial defence

 

[ian]

All sorted now, agreed a price below DRS rates. Let them lead negotiations so it wasn't perceived as targeted selling. All very amicable, they were actually very grateful that I was respectful of their error and helped guide them. I got more than I probably would have sold for anyway.

 

[bluerock]

Glad you got it sorted but disappointed the Domainlore auction was pulled before it ended on 22nd as I was going to bid.

 

[ian]

Glad you got it sorted but disappointed the Domainlore auction was pulled before it ended on 22nd as I was going to bid.

I know, but it wasn't sensible for me to allow the auction to conclude, plus it had no bidders at that stage.

 

[bluerock]

Bidding is allowed up until the auction ends. If you had actually received a drs I could understand more and would agree with you. But you did pull the auction and agree a sale privately.

As I said earlier Im glad its sorted and for what its worth they would not have won the drs.

 

[bluerock]

Not for me to say, down to OP

 

[ian]

Bidding is allowed up until the auction ends. If you had actually received a drs I could understand more and would agree with you. But you did pull the auction and agree a sale privately.

Believe me, I wanted this to sell at auction, but with a threat of DRS, it was the lesser of two evils. I cannot see it being a sensible approach to accept bidding on a domain that may or may not have been removed from my ownership. They had reached out to Nominet already to prevent transfer; whether that would have been honoured before a DRS I don't know.

Anyone prepared to state the domain name at issue now? Was it a nine character .co.uk?

No, I'd rather not, as transfer is still to take place, but yes, it was 9 characters and I had no idea who the previous owner was.