Selling a domain name - worries

GordonH · Apr 25, 2007

I have been in the domain business since the last century but not selling "used" domains apart from one instance where I sold a domain to an organisation for a reasonable sum of money because I had no further use for it.

I am now in a similar situation with a name I am not needing but which could be worth a bit of money.
It currently has a web site on it although it doesn't function (it was going to be a web hosting service) but I would like to put a for sale sign up. I have considered using Sedo for this purpose.

However I am a bit scared:

1. Will having PPC on the site make it look like a bad faith registration or put the registration at risk?

2. Will putting it up for sale publicly cause problems with related trade mark holders?

Just to clarify: the domain name in question is "home.it", its not a .com and I don't know how the .it registry views trade mark issues. Clearly its generic but you have no way of knowing what might crop up. I remember us having problems with Ebay over the domain "poolebay.net" even though it is nothing to do with Ebay or auctions.

Does anyone have any ideas on the best way to market it?
Is Sedo a reasonable way to go?
I am not using it anyway and its got to be worth something.

retired_member6 · Apr 25, 2007

Perhaps you should have just told the idiots where Poole is.

As for home.it tm from whom? Nothing comes to mind.

You don't have to have ads on a domain if you're just selling it, just add it to the database and redirect to the sales page. A domain is an asset, assets get put up for sale or offer.

Cheers
Lee

GordonH · Apr 25, 2007

Well there may be related trade marks.

I have been unable to register my company name as a trademark because I was advised that it could provoke another large company with a similar mark to try and force us to change our business name or they might offer to buy us for a token amount rather than causing us to go to court in what would apparently end up as a losing battle.

Hence my concern about any related trade marks.
Being .it may protect it slightly as they are difficult to deal with, but they also sometimes do odd things with domains which is how I got this one in the first place (it was in some kind of unregisterable state even though it was not registered).

sedo · Apr 26, 2007

Hi Gordon,

1. Will having PPC on the site make it look like a bad faith registration or put the registration at risk?

2. Will putting it up for sale publicly cause problems with related trade mark holders?

As far as these two points are concerned, you have absolutely nothing to worry about.

As for issues regarding the name, I agree with Lee, I can't see any problems here, but trademark law can indeed be enigmatic. I would get yourself some legal advice on this issue to be sure.

Regarding .it domains in general, transferring them can be difficult due to nic.it's extraordinary nit-picking ability, but it can be done, and we have Italian speakers in the company (including myself) who can help.

Shaun

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