This post may go two ways as some users may think transfering a current domain to another user is a scummy way of getting a URL. However, there's a domain that I really could use that is unlocked and used. How would I go about transfering that domain to me - which sites to use? I know that the original register would be initially contacted with my interest - but if they don't contact me, that makes the transfer easier? Thanks guys
No not kidding and of course not I wouldn't like it done to myself. I thought there would be some backlash to this topic, which I mentioned at the top of this post. The thing is people are registering domains and then not using them. I personally would use one of these names. From what I gather the domain owner is contacted and given 7-60 days? Please don't take this post the wrong way...
If someone leaves their car unlocked, it certainly does not give you the right to take it because you can "use it". They own the rights to the domain, and they would be able to reverse any transfer with some legal paperwork and then turn around and sue you for their time, expenses, lost revenue and anything else they can think of (and they would win too).
It doesn't really matter if they respond or not. If my car is not for sale, I'm not going to respond to people asking to buy it.
Ok, I probably don't see it on those terms since it's a practice which Icann allows.... I would see it as an empty building, then applying for permission to rent it (if that's how I believe the process works...)
Domains aren't rented, domains are owned. A registrar cannot evict someone from a domain, the owner of a domain can sell it to someone else, etc. Domains are property and are seen as such in the eyes of the law.
Hmm, I thought we rent domains - since we can only purchase them for a number of years and then re-register them at a later domain...we owe them for a period of time. I pretty much agree with most of the things DP says and does, but this seems to be a one-off - Seems like I hit a nerve with users here...
You cannot get a domain transferred to you if it is registered to someone else. You'll either need to contact the owner of the domain and ask if you can buy the domain from them; or wait until it expires and then register it. You can't just "take" it. The registrar won't get involved without permission from the owner; and the host won't get involved.
You own the domain, the license fees are not for rental. Just like you still have to pay property tax on a home you own. Even though you own your home, if you don't pay your property tax, you will loose your home. Read up on the sex.com fiasco... Someone wrongfully transfered the domain away from the rightful owner. He not only got his domain back but the courts ruled that the person that did it had to pay the rightful owner $65,000,000 (he of course fled the country). He also sued Network Solutions (now VeriSign) for allowing the transfer and they ended up settling out of court for another $16,000,000. The official ruling by the court was that the original owner "had property rights" to the domain. Read it however you want, but it seems pretty cut and dry to me.
Oh lala, more metaphors. But if you are renting a home, you don't actually own it at the end of the day.... So I guess the conclusion you are making is that even if a domain is currently owned by a user and isn't locked or used...I can't have access to it in the near future, even if Icann state that it's possible to transfer unlocked domains to another user if they don't respond to transfer requests. Ok I can live with that...no problem. I think one reason I made this posting is that users are just buying up domains, not using them and then using sites like sedo.co.uk to sell them on...I was looking at ways on how to obtain a domain name (legally of course) .
Do what you want... but transferring a domain away from the rightful owner is going to be more headaches than it's worth in the long run.
In a round about way...there is a related read on this topic by Hernando de Soto... The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else The basic premise is that the 3rd world is the 3rd world today due to a lack of property laws which in turn make credit impossible....without credit it is impossible to leverage your capital or something like that....blah blah blah
What you're asking about here is called Domain Hijacking, and it's (of course) illegal... Here's an interesting article on the subject: http://www.zdnet.co.uk/zdnetuk/news/internet/security/0,39020375,39165623,00.htm German police said on Saturday that a 19-year-old from Helmstedt, Lower Saxony, has admitted to hijacking the domain of the eBay Germany Web site and is likely to face charges of computer sabotage