How to acquire "squatted" .com?

[mediaspree]

I own most of the extentions for my domain name (.net .us .me etc) all except for the .com. I currently use the .net as my main business. I have reached out multiple times to the owner of the .com with offers of $xx,xxx (currently the domain is simply parked) with no response. If I were to trademark the name, would have legal rights to the .com? Is there a better way to contact the owner besides the "contact us about this domain" link on the parked page? I have also paid Sedo (this is going back a year or two) to try and aquire the domain for me and the end result was "no response".

Thank you.

 

[abc3200]

It is highly unlikely that you'll be able to get the name by trademarking at this point. It is more likely that the current owner can file a claim for reverse hijacking, since the reason why you plan to file a trademark is to hijack the domain from the present owner.

 

[FPForum]

If I remember correctly, the only way you would get it back from a trademark is if the name was registered after the trademark was registered. If your domain is extremely unique and his cybersquatting is obvious (meaning the only reason someone would register that domain is to steal traffic from your business) then you may have a case and may be able to get the name. I would suggest consulting with a domain lawyer about that though.

 

[GoQuickly]

Are you sure the owner hasn't died or is it obvious the owner is renewing so you won't get it.

 

[htmlindex]

It all comes down to money, the owner probably doesn't feel that it's worth selling it for $xx,xxx. I'm sure if you offer him/her $xx,xxx,xxx you'd probably get a response

 

[rmg]

Cant you phone call him?

 

[StonePillar]

Have you contacted the domain name registrant through his or her Whois record? Is the registrant's contact info correct?

ICANN policy requires registrants to maintain accurate contact info in Whois records and requires registrars to remind registrants annually to update their contact info. If the contact info is not correct, you can complain to the registrar of the domain name you are interested in.

:wave:

 

[SiberForum]

Yeah, maybe it can be a good idea to search the info according to Whois and find all information about the Registrant.

 

[Kate]

If I were to trademark the name, would have legal rights to the .com?

That route has been tried, this is called reverse domain hijacking. Quite a few UDRPs have been denied with a finding of reverse domain hijacking attempt.

If you're really motivated, check the whois record and try the phone number listed.
Or show up at their front door.

 

[DubDubDubDot]

It is possible for you to get the domain by force, but the stars are going to have to be aligned in your favor.

Try contacting him through methods other than email first. Call on the phone, send a letter, find him on Facebook or Linkedin and so on. He probably isn't ignoring a $xx,xxx offer unless it's an insulting offer. It's also possible that he doesn't understand the concept of selling domains.

Based on what we know from the thread so far - that you've got an existing business known as this name and the .com is parked - things are looking good for you, but that can change real quick with more information.

Is the domain a pure generic (cars.com), pure brandable (twitter.com) or a brandable generic (namepros.com)?

How long has your business been using the same name? Was the .com ever developed?

 

[namewaiter]

It all comes down to money, the owner probably doesn't feel that it's worth selling it for $xx,xxx. I'm sure if you offer him/her $xx,xxx,xxx you'd probably get a response

i like this, with a different spin, maybe an email that says...

"if I were to offer you $132,000, would you be interested in selling xxxxx.com?"

see if you get a response... it's not exactly an offer, really just a question

 

[Domainace]

i like this, with a different spin, maybe an email that says...

"if I were to offer you $132,000, would you be interested in selling xxxxx.com?"

see if you get a response... it's not exactly an offer, really just a question

Strictly speaking, it's not an offer. But practically speaking, you would be putting yourself in a bad position - and would probably start your relationship off on the wrong foot.

I would just hunt the owner down. It can't be that hard to get a phone number or an address.

If the domain is clearly worth more than you could offer though, your chances are slim.