How do I find the previous owner of a domain?

Validweb · Dec 2, 2002

I see a udrp decision the other day and as well as listing the current owner of the domain it listed the previous owner.

Is it possible to get access to old whois data? If not the general public then who, other than the registrar, can see this data.

I'm not interested in any particular domain. But the decision I saw just piqued my curiosity.

fizz · Dec 2, 2002

It's not 100%, but you can try typing in the domain name at www.alexa.com or by carrying out a search at www.archive.org to view the former website, which may have an 'About us' section.

Validweb · Dec 2, 2002

Thanks for your help fizz, I'll give these a try those sites for old whois data.

I hadn't thought of using archive.org for old whois data, but don't think archive sites list database driven web pages, only static html. It's not really the web sites but the whois I was curious about.

But I was wondering if that data is actually published online somewhere or under what circumstances it would become available.

Validweb · Dec 2, 2002

Well whattya know, searched
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&q=domain+names
and what's at the top:

http://www.infotoday.com/newsbreaks/nb021202-1.htm

December 2, 2002 Ã¢â¬â Dialog has joined with SnapNames to offer a master directory of domain name information. At 65 million records and counting, the database becomes the largest single file on Dialog. The Domain Names Database (File 225) carries both current URL records and historical ownership records for Internet domain names. The source matches records held in WhoIs and WhoWas files. Records can contain as many as 78 fields; more than 50 are fully searchable. Fields include registrant name, domain name, e-mail address, phone number, ZIP code, etc.

Searching the Domain Names Database costs $5.50 per DialUnit or $1.08 per connect-time minute, plus $2.90 per full record displayed or printed. The new content source is available through DialogWeb, DialogClassic, and DialogLink. According to Krishnan, Dialog plans to test the file in traditional, top-end Dialog markets before making it available to a broader public through its credit card outlets.

anybody know a free service??