[RedEvo]

I'm negotiating for a client on a .com domain name owned by A N other. My client owns the .co.uk. Before we pay the fee required by the domain owner - circa $25k - is it worth taking another tack and forcing a transfer through the courts?

The domain is the exact company name of my client but uses generic words. I'm thinking they are just going to have to bite the bullet.

Any thoughts from the legal eagles?

d

[Jeewhizz]

Do they have a trademark for the term?
Can they show that the current registrant has abused the registration?
Is there a clear claim for the term?

If yes to the above, then a UDRP might be worthwhile. You'd be looking at around £2-3k for that I believe.

Feel free to PM me the name if you'd like more specific advice.

It it is a clearly generic term, and the current domain isn't in abuse, then they will most likely have to bite the bullet.

[Humphrey]

These sorts of challenges can get a bit messy.

I had a business very aggressively challenge me using one of my "co uk" domain names because they had registered themselves as a limited company under that same name and owned the "com" version, however it transpired that I in fact had the right not them as I could prove I had been trading under that Domain name for longer. I could also prove that a number of other organisations were using the domain name as a business term in normal business operations, including a University and the Government. I could of forced their limited company status to be revoked as they had made an inaccurate declaration on their application regarding exclusive use.

They swiftly back down!

These things can backfire if your research into your client's rights is not 100%, and they might decide to recover their costs from you being the person who advised them to take legal action.

[Iain Ogilvie]

Indeed - I remember a while back a dispute over the po-lo dot com domain.

Can't post links yet - not enough posts from this newbie - but go to theregister dot co dot uk and search for po-lo dot com.

Iain