Beware: eNom and NameCheap Suspend domains based on bogus claims by a fake company

[DomainMagnate]

problem resolved, thanks everyone for your comments.

 

[futuretaster]

LegitScript.com adamantly denies that it is a “front for big PhRMA” and claims that it is funded by its employees. But unlike pharmacy verification groups like VIPPS and PharmacyChecker.com, it does not charge pharmacies a fee for its verification service. So where does its revenue come from

LegitScript.com Founder, John Horton worked in the Bush White House

- says it all really,.

LegitScript – Not So Legit?

 

[DomainMagnate]

the worst thing is eNom are giving legitscript a free hand to basically have any sites they dont like taken down:
eNom and LegitScript LLC Announce Agreement to Identify Customers Operating Illegal Online Pharmacies | Business Wire

 

[DU]

So you're mad because you own a domain that uses a drug Trademark to push traffic to a generic and someone didn't like this?

There is currently no generic Chantix available in the United States. The patent for the drug expires in November 2018.

I'm not sure why you expect sympathy or have a totally misread this? 4rx.com skirts the laws by shipping from different countries (India) bypassing the FDA... maybe you don't like big pharma but the system is what it is.

Talk to you congressman if you don't like it.

 

[DubDubDubDot]

It sounds like you don't realize this, but you are partnering criminally with an illegal RX site that sells fake meds. 4rx doesn't even require a doctor's prescription. Not that they need to anyway since the drugs are not real. Any re-orders you got would have been due to a placebo effect.

 

[DomainMagnate]

So you're mad because you own a domain that uses a drug Trademark to push traffic to a generic and someone didn't like this?

It sounds like you don't realize this, but you are partnering criminally with an illegal RX site that sells fake meds. 4rx doesn't even require a doctor's prescription. Not that they need to anyway since the drugs are not real. Any re-orders you got would have been due to a placebo effect.

Generic doesn't mean fake, it's the same stuff just cheaper. They are clearly state that it's generic and don't infringe on the trademark as it's not sold by the same name. If it was fake or placebo no one would buy it.

It's not about the trademark either here, since Pfizer never contacted me or anyone else with similar domains with any claims. It says both in the site and on the 4rx pharmacy pages that these are all generic versions of chantix. I'm not based in the US myself, most countries don't have any laws prohibiting generic medications.

The point here is in how easily enom takes away your domains merely because of an affiliate link and a claim by legitscript. What if you have a domain like genericdrugs.com and they decided to suspend it just because you linked to a generic pharmacy?

 

[DnEbook]

ok lets say you are actually in the wrong, it would have been professional of enom to give you prior notice on this situation and offer you the chance to confirm or deny the situation and then go from there.

 

[barefoottech]

"Chantix is an FDA approved medication"

Yes, but the fake and "So-called" generics are not approved.
BTW Generics can't legally be made or SOLD in USA while the patent is active.

You want to re-check enom, namecheap Terms and conditions of usage.

While you are doing that also check Fabulous.com T&C. Being based in Australia, their T&C are even TOUGHER on Online sites selling pharmacy medicines as it is illegal here.

 

[RicoShay]

I don't know the full story from both sides and I'm not very clued up on the pharmacy rules/regulations so I'm finding it a little hard to understand the reasons behind what happened here. I would have expected the complaint to be made to the hosting company rather than to the registrar. Shouldn't they have just suspended the hosting account rather than the registrar taking actions on the domain name?

Regardless of what the domain is, ie. whether its a TM issue or not - that doesn't appear to have been the reason. It seems NC suspended the domain based on the content of the site. But as Michael claims, it was just an affiliate link. If that was the case, then would it not have been more reasonable for NameCheap to contact Michael to ask him to remove it?

And if it is an illegal affiliate - then shouldn't they be shut down?

An email would have been curteous. Even just to say "right we've suspended the domain for xyz reason". A customer deserves at least that, no?

Besides this - if this was suspended based purely on a tip-off / request from LegitScript without any checks/verifications or even warnings then it does seem a little unfair to me. As I said before, I would have thought the issue should've been reported/dealt with through the hosting company rather than domain registrar.

I have a lot of names at NameCheap and I actively promote NC to friends, family and clients... so I'd like the reassurance that there was a good reason behind this. I certainly hope its not going to be a matter of someone making a report and NC suspending other names as well... that would be chaos.

It would be nice to hear from the NC rep here - I did PM him, so lets see if there is anything that would help us understand this better. Perhaps so we can avoid similar situations happening to someone else in future.

 

[Erdy]

This is a threat to domain owner's property rights. Many of you are missing the big picture. Registrars shouldn't suspend domains based on content. The registrar doesn't provide the domain. They provide an empty slot to put your domain. Just because a domain happens to be at a certain registrar at a certain time, doesn't mean the registrar can do whatever they want with it.

I didn't register any domains on enom's website however I have many domains with namecheap and they are an enom reseller. I will contact namecheap and see if they can change my domains from enom to namecheap. Otherwise I'm done namecheap.

Enom can go f. themselves.

 

[Ms Domainer]

*

Unless you have permission to use the Chantix TM, then you are cybersquatting. It's just that simple. It doesn't matter if the makers of Chantix have come knocking at your door or not.

It looks as though Namecheap took the right action, albeit for the wrong reason.

*

 

[DU]

This is a threat to domain owner's property rights..

Yes, you are right; however, you don't own property, you own a lease agreement and your use needs to be lawful. (Linking is a grey area - but profiting from illegal sales to the US? Probably not)

Interesting law enforcement link:Controlled Prescription Drugs - National Drug Threat Assessment 2009 (UNCLASSIFIED)

Interesting link: eNom and LegitScript LLC Announce Agreement to Identify Customers Operating Illegal Online Pharmacies | Business Wire

MORE Interesting link:
Official Google Blog: Taking rogue pharmacies to court

Truth is, the OP might consider himself lucky that all that is happening is he is losing a domain.

I'm not for shutting down domains, per se, but this is causing the current shift towards the "new" internet.

It's coming.. brace yourselves, the WHOLE game is changing.

 

[MicroGuy]

You deserved a little advanced notice of the problem. Sounds like a total communication blunder of the highest degree from the registrars. IMO.

 

[DU]

You deserved a little advanced notice of the problem. Sounds like a total communication blunder of the highest degree from the registrars. IMO.

How about this:

Ring Ring...
OP: Yes...
Voice on Phone: Are you the owner of "domainname"?
OP: Yes... who is this?
Voice on Phone: This is the DEA. We're shutting you down. Good day.

N.B. I may have the organizations involved wrong.

 

[Domagon]

Another NameCheap suspension. Say it ain't so :O

However, to be fair, in this particular instance, it's not clear whether NameCheap initiated this action alone, if even at all, or if eNom did so on its own accord.

Currently, one of the domain's statuses at the registry is "clientHold" - that's not a status a reseller account, such as NameCheap, would normally be able to change; even if they did, not authorized to use except in very specific situations.

From my understanding (someone correct me if I'm mistaken), a domain in "clientHold" can not be transferred out - it could be in perpetual limbo for quite some time.

If all else fails, legal action against eNom may be the only way to get the hold taken off - good luck, this could be a drawn out fight ...

However, not all hope is lost, because, ironically, NameCheap may be your best hope for help dealing with eNom, since NameCheap's reputation has been taking a big hit lately for suspending domains - see what NameCheap can do...

On a related topic, censorship for all sorts of various reasons by domain registrars may become very common if the U.S. White House administration gets its way ...

Even Without COICA, White House Asking Registrars To Voluntarily Censor 'Infringing' Sites

Even Without COICA, White House Asking Registrars To Voluntarily Censor 'Infringing' Sites | Techdirt

Ron

 

[Erdy]

All my domains at Namecheap show up as Enom domains. I contacted them and asked if they are able to switch to namecheap. Otherwise I'm gone. This is so messed up.

 

[DU]

I'd be interested to read what peoples positions would be on:

Profiting from Posting Terrorist Organization Material (Be it IRA, ETA, etc.)
Profiting from the sale of Crack Cocaine
Profiting from a video of you doing something you shouldn't (Someone else profiting)
Profiting from leaked Government information
Profiting from instructions on bomb making
Profiting from showing live murders
Profiting from a site that was designed solely to rip you off
Profiting from a site etc. etc.
Profiting from links to a NAMBLA site
Someone selling videos of your parents engaged in a scat/felch orgy in Germany from a site in China

I always see everyone jump on a moral high-ground but it seems to be their own personal island.

The agreement signed by Enom is listed in my earlier post. This will be what you need to fight against. Also - check all the T&C's in your domain registration agreement (a lot of them say we can take the domain away at our discretion - Dynadot, Name, Godaddy all do last time I checked)

 

[JohnyUSA]

namecheap or enom are lucky which didnt get their a** sue by this domain owner since he doesnt have $$$. As this point they can shutdown the hosting but cant suspended the domain. it's so simple .

 

[Domagon]

namecheap or enom are lucky which didnt get their a** sue by this domain owner since he doesnt have $$$. As this point they can shutdown the hosting but cant suspended the domain. it's so simple .

The domain itself is suspended and, furthermore, is currently in "clientHold" - it's been dropped from the .COM tld zone file.

Ron

 

[DU]

namecheap or enom are lucky which didnt get their a** sue by this domain owner since he doesnt have $$$. As this point they can shutdown the hosting but cant suspended the domain. it's so simple .

For what? Sue to have my "illegal" site put up when I agreed to:

SERVICES PROVIDED AT WILL; TERMINATION OR SUSPENSION OF SERVICES:

.. we and your Primary Service Provider may terminate or suspend the Services at any time for cause, which, without limitation, includes (i) registration of prohibited domain name(s), (ii) abuse of the Services, (iii) payment irregularities, (iv) allegations of illegal conduct, (v) failure....

You'll find the same in just about every T&C no one reads.

---------- Post added at 12:35 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:32 AM ----------

All my domains at Namecheap show up as Enom domains. I contacted them and asked if they are able to switch to namecheap. Otherwise I'm gone. This is so messed up.

What's better about the T&C's there? Namecheap are even stricter I think.

 

[slumdog]

wow! name suspended without notice by registrar, hmm, isn't ICANN the ultimate authority? appeal ?( however considering the infringing nature of the name , it might be useless as well, )
suspended hosting ,, acceptable,
no recourse for owner, just take it as a bad deal, happy for the revenues already made and ,lesson learnt, on TM's and volatile nauture of profiting from pharma !

Enom bad , for no communication!

 

[DubDubDubDot]

Generic doesn't mean fake, it's the same stuff just cheaper. They are clearly state that it's generic and don't infringe on the trademark as it's not sold by the same name. If it was fake or placebo no one would buy it.

Generic meds use the same formula as the original and become available after the original patent expires. Don't you find it odd that the meds on 4rx still have active patents, yet they are offering generics?


"Has anyone tried Viagra from 4rx.com? Maybe its just me but I took 200mg last night and it did *nothing* .... I only bought 30 tabs so if its bunk I didnt get rammed too bad."
4rx.com viagra - anyone try it ???

"do not order accutane from 4rx.com its fake. i know this because i was taking 40mg per day of real accutane from the hospital for 6 weeks and my lips etc were dried right up. i orderd refils from 4rx and took them for a week. my skin went totally back to normal and as this is the seconds time taking accutane i knew this was the same thing that happens when coming off accutane. therfore i know that the tablets from 4rx are FAKE."
4RX.com Complaints - Spam emails!!!

"I bought from 4rx, and its fake. I opened the tablets its just filled with orange powder.. No side affects what so ever.. I've been on acctuane twice through the Dermo. Do not order from them !!"
http://www.topix.com/forum/drug/accutane/T218C2K33QLPTE257/p2

"The antibiotics I ordered normally take two days for me to feel better with brand meds in uk,these were fake still had symptoms after 5 days and terrible upset stomach .I contacted live help and was told they would ship different ones,second batch came 6 days later and this time were in a box but you could tell some ”master of crafts guy” had sat faking the boxes to look like the real deal.I feel there is far too much writing on the meds blister packs also.Second lot did not do a thing either,broke pills in half and they seemed to taste of sugar,not the usual antibiotic taste."
http://www.onlinepharmacyreviews.biz/4rx-review/

"I ordered generic Accutane and recieved fake pills. The pills listed no manufacturer, were crushed, and smelled strange."
http://www.onlinepharmacyreviews.biz/4rx-review/

 

[chandan]

All my domains at Namecheap show up as Enom domains. I contacted them and asked if they are able to switch to namecheap. Otherwise I'm gone. This is so messed up.

why they use still enom even though they are icann accredited registrar ?

 

[Erdy]

I received an answer to my ticket to namecheap. I guess they won't mind me sharing it here:

Hello Erdinc,

First of all, let me emphasize that we have absolutely nothing to do with these suspensions, this campaign is being waged by eNom directly and they neither inform us about certain domains being suspended, nor provide us with the ability to warn/notify our customers.

Our policy has always been as stated by Richard Kirkendall and it is not going to be changed.

We acquired our ICANN accreditation at the end of 2007 and have been developing our own domain registration platform since then. However, it requires a lot of resources and efforts to build it well enough to smoothly move over 1.6 million domains we currently hold away from eNom. And even though we have no ETA so far, I assure you that we are doing our best to accomplish that as soon as possible. Unfortunately, at this time it is technically impossible to take your domains away from eNom.

I would also like to point out that this campaign against illegal pharmacy domains was basically initiated/encouraged by no other than US President Barack Obama, you can find more details about that here:

SecuringPharma - Obama seeks action on online pharmacies domain names.

So basically this affects not only domains registered through eNom, but the whole industry, and refusing to suspend domains involved into distribution of illegal pharmacy might potentially affect registrar's accreditation. Perhaps, that is the reason of eNom starting suspending such domains, despite the article stating that they declined to take any actions.

Hope I have answered your concerns and managed to dissuade you from transferring away from us. Should you have any other questions, please let us know.

-----------------
Regards,
Ilya P.
Customer Support

 

[Erdy]

There are more details on legitscript's website about the agreement between them and enom.
LegitScript - LegitScript Welcomes Agreement with eNom (DemandMedia)

LegitScript and eNom are pleased to announce an agreement (see link for full press release) by which LegitScript will assist eNom, a subsidiary of DemandMedia, in identifying “rogue” Internet pharmacies.

So basically those guys are telling Enom what domains to suspend and Enom just cancels those domains. It is unclear whether Enom get's paid for those suspensions. Even if those domains are involved in selling fake pills or if they have affiliate links, this doesn't justify a suspension. The owners should be warned about the content. Some of those domains might have minisites or parking pages.

This is a threat to freedom of the Internet. There is no end to this kind of practice. After the pharmacy industry, other industries might line up on the front door of White House. For instance the music and film industry might try the same path.

I think they started with pharmacy because less people would oppose it. But there is more to come.

Ther is a list of suspended domains here:
LegitScript - LegitScript challenges 60 fraudulent .NAME Internet pharmacies
There are some generic domains too. You could lose a valuable domain without warning just because those legitscript guys decide that a link on the landing page leads to a pharmacy website they don't approve.