My second situation is completely different:
I saw a name at Enom's Pre-Release auctions that I simply could not believe was available! It was a celebrity's name. Short, and exactly correct just as everybody in the world uses it, and no other connotations to it. There are plenty of ad-bids on the name, all selling relevant merchandise, and very good overture type-in. This is clearly a name that could be taken away in a heartbeat should the celebrity wish to do so. Anybody typing in that domain name would expect to arrive at that celebrity's official site; no other interpretation is possible.
I bought the name for very little, and then wrote to the celebrity. My letter expressed my familiarity with, and appreciation for, the celebrity's work. I explained that I had bought the name to give to the celebrity as a thank you for the pleasure I've enjoyed from the celebrity's work, and requested instructions for how to transfer. It was a personal letter that mentioned how much my family would enjoy meeting the celebrity some day.
Perhaps I'll get a personally autographed thank-you note back; perhaps I'll get some free tickets for the family; perhaps I'll get a statement that the celebrity doesn't care about the domain name and I can keep it. (This celebrity has been famous for more than twenty-five years, so it's surprising to me that he didn't already have the domain.) In any of the above scenarios, my investment would be financially successful.
Perhaps I'll hear nothing at all, or I'll only hear from lawyers anyway. At least I have my letter on file to show good faith in any future communication. In the meantime, I have redirected the domain to the official website of the celebrity's employer, so there's good faith being demonstrated by me.
Even I don't get one of the favorable responses above, I'll have done a favor for someone I respect, I'll have done the right thing morally and legally, and I get a good story out of the experience; all for next to nothing in time and money.
Now I just wait and see...
---J.
My last scenario was one in which I knew I had a fair use for the name, and I actually still do not understand what the complainant was even talking about. He found the name parked at Trafficz, and entered a bid of $0 in order to cause Trafficz to send me his note:
> -----Original Message-----
> From: ---REMOVED ---
> Sent: Saturday, March 25, 2006 2:51 PM
> Subject: *** Request for: salanter.com ***
>
>
> Congratulations, you have received an offer/request on a domain name that you have parked with TrafficZ. Below is the
> information that the user has submitted.
>
> ===============================
> Inquiry Type: information
> Name: ---REMOVED---
> Email: ---REMOVED---
> IP Address: ---REMOVED---
> Domain Name: salanter.com
> Offer: $0
Memo: Do you have the rights to
www.salanter.com if so are you sure you want it challenged at the UN just like Madonna successfully re-claimed her name from a cybersquatter, or do you think you might consider reliquishing your illegitimate claim on this website name?
> ===============================
>
> Thank you for using TrafficZ.
>
> Best Regards,
> The TrafficZ Team
--------------------------
Here was my response to him:
Hi. What are you talking about?
I have many domain names devoted to Jewish subjects, and I develop Jewish educational websites to go with them. See for example
www.Siddur.org or
www.Rashi.info or
www.Malbim.org or
www.SagesSimcha.com or
www.LearnersMinyan.com or
www.Rashbam.com or
www.Ramban.com or
www.AdamsStreet.org ...and many, many others.
R.' Salanter was the founder of the Mussar Movement, which emphasized ethical development and self-improvement as the main expression of divine service. He is a major figure in Jewish history. He was the most important inspirational thinker of the 18th Century; and arguably of Jewish history since then.
I intend to build a site about him, similar to the sites I've built to honor other great Jewish sages, such as Rashi, Rashbam, Ramban, and Malbim (cited above).
I do not personally know of anybody else with the name Salanter, although it is a common surname possessed by many Jewish families whose lineage can be traced back to Salant (a town in Lithuania), which is the derivation of the name.
Who did you have in mind for it, and why are you so upset?
--- Jordan Lee Wagner
Jordan@Siddur.org
-------------------------
I never heard back from him.
---J.
