recently got an email from someone claiming my .com was similar to their .tv they requested that i hand the domain name over to them or they would file a UDRP , after a bit of reading it seems like that to lodge an UDRP and have seen by a panel it costs $700 is this correct? the person said that my domain is similar to theirs and the only reason i have it is to steal traffic and to sell the domain at a higher value for profit so has anyone had any experience with the UDRP ?
Depends which UDRP provider is eventually chosen. The lowest appears to be $1,300 for one domain name and one panelist at National Arbitration Forum. Others here may suggest ways to try avoiding liability. If the other party is indeed ready to file a UDRP action, no forum "advice" is likely going to help. This is one time you best consult a lawyer experienced in these matters. Some of them offer free consultations especially for relatively simple cases. Ultimately, it's up to you.
the domain name they are challenging isn't high on my list , it was just a fling ,so i wont be challenging it with a lawyer etc , if they want to pay the fee they are more then welcome to , or they can buy the domain at a 1/3rd of the fee price
If I am not mistaken, it should be the claimer who would always pay the UDRP fee. As for whether the claimer will win the case eventually or not, it depends on the time you registered the domain name, the content hosted in your website or whether you were using the website in bad faith to the claimer or not. During the process, UDRP will have the domain Registrar involved and stand by to assist them complete the investigation, execute the final decision...
cool thought i read it right , was just checking , well if they want to pay the UDRP fee they are more then welcome to , or buy my domain at a lower cost the domain was just a spare of the moment things so holds no great value to me
I think you are actually in a pretty good position and it sounds like you are open to a negotiation or sale of your domain name. There are a lot of facts unknown, but since you don't really care about keeping the domain, and the legal option they are threatening would cost them a decent chunk of change you have some interesting options. Assuming that you did not pick that name to infringe upon them and in fact have a different non-infringing use that you could put the domain to (which there very often is) ... that leaves you a nice option. [What you don't want to do is offer your domain at some high price to them] However, I see nothing wrong with telling them simply that it is your belief that you have every right to use the domain name and plan on using it in a non-infringing manner, but that you would consider any offer they make in due course, as any business would, but that you are not looking to sell. I also would concur with what Dave Zan suggests in that, if you are in the US, you could probably get a free legal consultation with a lawyer near where you live. Many bar referrals are free or low cost. You can usually look up "lawyer referral service XX" where XX is your state abbreviation and get some decent results - usually a referral service from your state bar.