Ethics Question

[aptimass]

I registered a domain the other day that I found expired. I can only assume that it went through the whole delete process, as it was on a pending delete list, that I run a script to monitor, and this one popped up as expired so I went and registered it. Now the previous owner has approached me demanding that I return the domain to them. It is a fastreport.org that is similar to their fast-report.com, although they do not appear to have ever owned fastreport.com. Doing a wayback search, it is apparent that this was their domain (virtually the same content, with contact information matching).

The email that was sent to me accused me of swindling them out of the domain, and asserted that they had the domain registered until 2005. They gave me a week to get back to them under the threat of legal action.

My question is should I return the domain freely, or tell him to watch his expiration dates more closely next time? The domain is getting 50-100 hits/day, and is making me money parked at sedo.

 

[Ed30]

If it's not trademarked you have nothing to worry about. They're probably just trying to bully you to try to make up for their own mistake.
Fix a fair price you are willing to sell it to them for. If they don't accept it tell them to p*ss off.

 

[dotNetKing]

Personally, if I get that sort of e-mail, I explain the process whereby the owner has ample to renew the domain both before and after renewal date, and that I registered it once it was released for the general public to register.

I normally point out that the cost of redeeming the domain can be as high as $200 or $300 and that I will be prepared to accept such and such a price if they wish to purchase it.

This normally happens for me with traffic names which I don't value at more than $100 to $200, but it could of course happen to names which have a greater value than that.
This is just what I normally do, and is not a recommonedation that you should necessarily do the same.

 

[draqon]

its pretty clear what happened here, the name was set to expire in 2005 but it had false or obsolete whois data, so NSI turfed it. You have absolutely no moral imperative to return the domain.

 

[aptimass]

That is an interesting theory, although I am not familiar with what happens when they discover false whois information. I started watching this particular domain when it was in a pending delete status. Do they go through the normal process of pending delete when the information is found to be incorrect?

 

[Steen]

Originally posted by draqon
its pretty clear what happened here, the name was set to expire in 2005 but it had false or obsolete whois data, so NSI turfed it. You have absolutely no moral imperative to return the domain.

They generally try to contact you first..

 

[HeavyLifting]

sounds like they dropped the ball and let it expire. i don't think you are under any obligation to offer them anything special.

you registered a freely available domain. you don't need to concern yourself with any past life the domain may or may not have had.

personally, when someone starts off with an agressive attitude, i tend not to reach an agreement with them. it just bothers me. on the other hand, i have had people approach me very kindly and in these cases i've even give the domain over for no charge (after verifying their story).

i would tell them to buzz off and pay more attention to their domains in the future.

 

[Bob]

I get this type of email all the time with expired names. Let them sue you. If you registered it (i.e did not acquire the name unethically), you have no legal or moral obligation to return the name. If the name was erroneously deleted, then they need to take action with NOTwork solutions and not you.

-Bob

 

[GiantDomains]

Domains are not owned property. It's like an apartment. If you forget to pay the rent, you're evicted. New tenants move in.

 

[Steen]

Aren't domains owned by the registry (verisign)?

I know in the recent sex.com case it was ruled that they were property, but in most other cases, they are considered property of Verisign on lease or whatever, right?

 

[aptimass]

Thanks for the input guys. I did pretty much what was suggested, and now they have offered to buy the domain back. They don't seem to trust me enough to use paypal, and get the free enom push so now I need to find a more secure way to do the transfer for them. Maybe I should let them find it if they don't want to do it the easy way.

 

[actnow]

www.Escrow.com but it will cost $ 60. ++.

Plus, Afternic also does escrow. But, it will still cost +/- $ 60.

 

[puravida]

Originally posted by Ed30
Fix a fair price you are willing to sell it to them for. If they don't accept it tell them to p*ss off.

My 2cents here... I've posted about this topic numerous times over the past few days; but, alas, all my posts are gone for now

Anyway, my word of caution is to be extra careful if you decide to set a price to sell it back to them. They can claim that you had "intent" to "extort" money from them by registering it.

I usually just ignore threats like that and keep the domain that is making money and I NEVER tell them I'll sell it to them. That's just my way of dealing with it... and of course, is not legal advice.

We all believe your intentions were justifiable, but if you accept an offer; they can possibly use it against you. You might think it's easy to prove your intentions, but always remember that a fat guy got fat eating McDonald's fries and then got $1 M for it.

The justice system is far from just.

 

[puravida]

Originally posted by Steen
Aren't domains owned by the registry (verisign)?

I know in the recent sex.com case it was ruled that they were property, but in most other cases, they are considered property of Verisign on lease or whatever, right?

Hey Steen,

My opinion on the subject:

It depends on how much money you have :-D

Money makes the lawyers work harder, harder working lawyers call favors, and favors get you whatever you want