question Bought an expired name that is an actual company typo. Now what?

[gemfinder]

I did my daily gem hunting through expired domains last week and grabbed a bunch I really liked. Typically two dictionary word names, that sound good together etc.

Anyways, I had time today to go through the names and update nameservers, price them, and all of my normal routine.

I noticed that one of my names I bought is a subscription service that’s quite big, but did not realize when buying. A lot of times I google the names before checking out, but this was a larger buy and wanted to solidify them all.

The name I bought is basically the plural form of one of their words but sounds very similar. Easy typo for sure.

I usually park my names first before selling, but obviously don’t want to use the name if it’s infringing on their trademark (I do see they have a trademark for their name without the semi plural form).

What can I do with the name? I don’t really mind wasting the $11 hand reg fee, just want to avoid any issues down the line.

Is there like a “burn” address to send it back to the domain ether?

Should I just remove nameservers (it has the automatic registar’s default lander) and let it expire in a year?

Can it be parked? Again not looking for any issues, but if it’s not an issue, then I would?

Worth trying to give it to the company to capture typos? Although not sure if it gets any since I haven’t parked.

Lastly, can it be sold? I don’t mind losing the cost totally as it’s not a lot, but can it be listed on any major marketplaces?

I’ll certainly be more careful on my bulk scoop ups, as I’m generally just buying generic terms (bought hundreds and haven’t seen an exact name match like this) but this actually turned out to be a large subscription company, that I never heard of.

Thanks in advance. I’m a worry wart and just want to be careful to not have an $11 purchase end up costing me much more.

Appreciate you all.

 

[DigiNames]

If you are really worried about it, you can delete it at the registrar.

 

[gemfinder]

If you are really worried about it, you can delete it at the registrar.

Thanks, I see in my registar there's a delete domain function. What will happen w/ the domain when I do this? Will it go back to be able to be registered by someone else? Just curious.

 

[kaotic]

Delete this post and keep it...? No don't offer it to them.

 

[cough]

Serve a redirect to their actual site

 

[gemfinder]

Delete this post and keep it...? No don't offer it to them.

Why delete the post? I didn't post the name. What can I do w/ a name like this, if it's not able to be parked?

 

[gemfinder]

Serve a redirect to their actual site

That's actually a great idea. Like an internet Robinhood. Has anyone done this before?

 

[kaotic]

Why delete the post? I didn't post the name. What can I do w/ a name like this, if it's not able to be parked?

Delete it because it's so silly, asking if you should delete a domain name cause some company wasn't quick enough to the jump. Smack an email address on it and call it a day, let them come to you.

 

[gemfinder]

Delete it because it's so silly, asking if you should delete a domain name cause some company wasn't quick enough to the jump. Smack an email address on it and call it a day, let them come to you.

I thought you can't sell a name that is exactly like a company name to a company? Again, just checking the rules, apologies.

 

[silentg]

Have you checked opencorporates / linkedin to see if other companies use the same name?

 

[gemfinder]

Have you checked opencorporates / linkedin to see if other companies use the same name?

Yep, just one company, a large monthly subscription company. ExampleExample is them, mine is ExamplesExample.

 

[silentg]

Delete it then

 

[DigiNames]

It really depends on the name. I would only delete it if it was a very distinct brand with no other potential uses. Many companies can use similar names and have trademarks in certain classes, but similar names can still be used and bought/sold. Just because it is similar to an existing company doesn't automatically mean there aren't other legitimate uses.

I would warn against reaching out to the company or that would give credence to the argument that you registered it targeting their company. If you decide to keep it just put it on a for sale page.

 

[enterscope]

Generally, if there are no trademarks (i use trademark247.com to search), and your intentions weren't to confuse potential customers looking for that brand, then you should be ok.

If the domain is generic enough, then it's not considered trademark infringement to list a domain for sale.