.com of a .org domain

[dnparker]

Any ideas on the legality of buying the .com of a .org domain? Trademarks aside, if someone has a domain freebirds.org and the .com is available, am I in any liability for buying the .com?

First time poster. I tried to search this but didn't find an answer.

d

 

[.X.]

In most cases, Only if you use the domain for the exact same niche, and the owner of the Dot org would have to file a UDRP with ICANN, at the Dot org owners cost of $1,300. liability per say, legal action, most likely not, The worst case senerio could be a civil suite, and that is extemly doubtful, The UDRP cost $1,300 just to file, Just imagine what attorny fees plus court cost would be. highly unlikely

 

[AdoptableDomains]

Disregarding Trademarks (even unregistered ones), you should be in the clear. However, you may get on the Sh** list of legitimate org users if used for something objectionable to their cause and their customers end up there. Even if legal, you could get some unwanted ill-will unless you have a reason.

Also, in some cases org names are obscure and even if you have the .com you may not get any reasonable traffic. Some high school club using something like (Dummy High School Soccer Club) dhssc.org may only have a few members with little traffic and it really doesn't mean anything for a .com business even if available. It would be unlikely that they would then buy a domain like that from you since they didn't originally buy it and probably couldn't afford your price. Generic names would work, but if it means nothing, you probably won't prosper with it.

 

[Acroplex]

Organizations that actively use the .ORG and fail to register the .COM get what they deserve.

 

[moped]

IMO its completely safe to register generic names in any ext, just stay away from brands.

 

[DNQuest.com]

Organizations that actively use the .ORG and fail to register the .COM get what they deserve.

So people using domains as intended should be screwed by squatters who register names to steal traffic?

 

[Acroplex]

So people using domains as intended should be screwed by squatters who register names to steal traffic?

In a perfect world things would be angelic.

The old notion that .ORG belongs to organizations only has long faded away. In the same sense, organizations actively use other TLDs, including .COM for their online presense. Therefore, I don't see how you'd expect an organization to leave the .COM unregistered and go for the .ORG only. As a matter of fact, they should get as many TLDs as possible.

 

[bluesman]

So people using domains as intended should be screwed by squatters who register names to steal traffic?

Must so many here be so quick to use the dirty word "squatters"? That's the same thing claim-jumpers and cattle barons used to call honest farmers while they were pushing them off their legal government land back in the 1800s, lest we forget.

Like any other land rush, the supreme law is always first come, first served. If there was valuable traffic to be had at a dot com, then the folks that got the dot org should also have grabbed the dot com early, too. What if the tables were switched, and those org people instead got the com only, leaving the org for someone else? NOW who's the "squatter"?

It seems that whichever party is smart enough and quick enough to get the com is almost instantly hated out of sheer jealousy and branded as the bad guy every time. Yep, just like those folks were that got to all the good land first during the days of the Wild West.

Given that history, it's no surprise to me, then, that modern day legal claim jumpers and bullying business barons get a lot more respect than the average hard-working honest domainer.

As I say, it's no surprise, but it's still WRONG.

 

[ji]

In a perfect world things would be angelic.

The old notion that .ORG belongs to organizations only has long faded away. In the same sense, organizations actively use other TLDs, including .COM for their online presence. Therefore, I don't see how you'd expect an organization to leave the .COM unregistered and go for the .ORG only. As a matter of fact, they should get as many TLDs as possible.

but they are just that, not profit organisations. they don't know a lot about business. they just think that .org is for organisations, like them.

eg: my city, sacramento, ca. the city uses cityofsacramento.org . it's on the police cars and everything. they do not own .com . unless your website is about the city of sacramento, you should not be buying the domain. in the usa ".com" is so ubiquitous that for most people internet=.com. especially for non profits. they do not advertise, especially on ppc. same goes for saclibrary.org . some domainer/parker/squatter/whatever you call them owns the domain and parks it with advertisements.

it is my intention to start a business/organisation that arbitrates with the owners of domains with the intention of getting the domain in question transferred to who it should belong to.

 

[dnparker]

decided against

I've decided against sitting on the .com alternates of .orgs.

I'd rather build revenue based sites that have "clear titles" to make a land use reference. Possibly even invest in trademarking for ultimate value...

Thanks for the feedback!

Darryl