Hi there I wonder if anyone has any legal insight into a domain name problem I am facing. I am a web developer, and I bought domain names (a .com and a .co.uk) for my clients company's website. Unfortunately I didn't renew the .com domain name, and the major US hosting company who I am with snapped it up before I could get it after the (costly) redemption period. I communicated with the hosting company and they simply say the .com is not for sale, and wont enter a dialogue. All they have on the .com is one page with links (probably automatically generated). The hosting company has no business called "companyname", where as my client does (in the UK). And the hosting company don't appear to making (much) revenue from the one page domain name website. I have tried speaking with them but not got past first base, pesky big company crappy support. Does anyone know what my legal footing is reacquiring the domain? Or any precendence? If I don't have a legal footing, should I go to the tech press, to illustrate an unethical company, or is this argument flawed? Thanks
Well, actually when you did not renew the domain name, you pretty much signifies that you do not need the domain name any longer. At that stage, it is fair game for anyone to acquire it. Unless the domain name is trademarked or copyrighted, you probably do not really have much footing in recovering the domain name.
Hi Eddy, thanks for the reply! (And happy 3,000th post!) I know what you are saying it makes sense. However does the fact that my client is called CompanyName Ltd and used to own the CompanyName.com have any relevance? And also the domain name is not a desirable/everyday word like bestecommerce.com. Also is it ethical though for MY hosting company to do this to their own customer
Well, it is not an issue of ethics here. Domain names can expired for all sorts of reasons and they get taken up by other parties who want to profit from it. As long as the web host does not use the domain name for the same business as your client, they cannot be held for cyber-squatting or anything to that effect. People here buy expired domain names all the time to take advantage of residual traffic and for other reasons. Alternatively, you might want to check with a lawyer as to your options, maybe they can muscle in and scare your web host to giving up the names.
When you register a domain name with a service provider, you also enter into a contract with them. Not renewing your domain name timely also means you no longer renewed your contract. If the host is prepared to show you've no longer renewed your contract, then that approach is certainly flawed. Following the terms as agreed upon in the contract is as ethical as your attempting to use the media to get something that no longer belongs to you.