.mobi I bought a .mobi name with intentions of selling to .com

[Keith]

I bought a poker .mobi name which happens to be an established .com site. I am not sure if this a shady thing to do, but I am hoping that eventually they will realize that it is in their best interest to have a mobile site and purchase the name from me. I cannot find any info as far as a TM is concerned. Is this the right thing to do and has anyone else ever done this before? It seems to me that this is fine but I need your feedback. Thanks

Keithmt

 

[thinking1]

As long as there are absolutely no tm issues then that's not a bad idea to approach them about your site.

 

[Keith]

should I approach them about it? I thought it would be asking for trouble if I registered the name and then contacted them about purchasing it. Maybe I should wait for them to contact me or put it up for sale in the future.

Keithmt

 

[scandiman]

should I approach them about it? I thought it would be asking for trouble if I registered the name and then contacted them about purchasing it. Maybe I should wait for them to contact me or put it up for sale in the future.

Keithmt

What is the name?

 

[Keith]

I am not sure that I should disclose that info. I actually bought two poker names that have established .com sites. Neither one seems to be TM and both are run in other countries besides the US. These are names that I stumbled upon in search of good poker .mobis but I have never heard of before. Should I contact them?

keithmt

 

[CharlieA]

I'm prett new to the domain game, but this sounds a lot like cybersquatting. You yourself have reservations about it...

 

[Keith]

I could just say I bought it for future purposes whatever they may be. Am I supposed to shy away from a name when the premier site had their chance to register it? In the future when and if .mobi is mainstream, the .com may want the name. Should I just let it go unregistered so that when they realize the potential they can reg. it themselves? I am sure that this is not an isolated case. While I have reservations about contacting .com to buy the name, I feel comfortable in holding onto it until the demand is higher for .mobi.
Besides, what difference does it make if I buy the name and sell it to an individual or wait for .com to purchase it. It is the same result in the end.

keithmt

 

[Phronesis]

Are they generic terms? The .com doesn't necessarily need to have an established TM to win @ UDRP.

 

[Keith]

I would say that they are generic. Look at sportsbook.mobi for example. Clearly there is an established .com so why did someone pay $130,000 for it. If .com bought it why didnt they save their money and fight for the rights to the name? If someone else bought it why would they risk all of that money if they could be stripped of the name in the future?

keithmt

 

[MrRhee]

I would say that they are generic. Look at sportsbook.mobi for example. Clearly there is an established .com so why did someone pay $130,000 for it. If .com bought it why didnt they save their money and fight for the rights to the name? If someone else bought it why would they risk all of that money if they could be stripped of the name in the future?

keithmt

generic. is yours?

 

[CharlieA]

Wow, your tone sure did change. It seems you had the answer to your questions all along. Every company doesn't monitor the introduction of a new extension so your argument that the .com had a chance to reg is weak. It's not like ICANN emailed all .com owners that they should run out and reg the .mobi version. Anyhoo, I would develop it so it seems less "cybersquattish".

 

[Keith]

thanks for the feedback.

keithmt

 

[RJ]

>> Is this the right thing to do and has anyone else ever done this before?

It's not a good strategy, imho. The title of this thread is the very definition of a bad faith registration, and what many people label "cybersquatting". To learn more what that means for you, search the term UDRP here at NamePros and on Google. Basically, they can file a UDRP domain dispute and claim the name back at any time.

Now if you wanted to try to extort them for a dollar amount less than it costs them to file a UDRP, I suppose you could, but it's pretty unethical and not really worth the trouble in most cases. A lot of legal departments these days refuse to reimburse someone for anything more than expenses in order to acquire Trademark offending domains.

Good luck,

RJ

 

[Keith]

Well I guess the majority have spoken. I will now dump the name back into the pool. Thanks for the advice on this matter.

keithmt

 

[ezinaz]

Hmmm. I normally agree with not cybersquatting, but now question this policy after the whole Marketiva incident. Perhaps if there are more than 1 party with rights to the domain, it can pay off?

 

[scandiman]

Hmmm. I normally agree with not cybersquatting, but now question this policy after the whole Marketiva incident. Perhaps if there are more than 1 party with rights to the domain, it can pay off?

This is what I have been wondering but without knowing the name we can't really assist.

 

[bucks]

Well I guess the majority have spoken. I will now dump the name back into the pool. Thanks for the advice on this matter.

keithmt

I also have a name I registered early on that is not trade marked, but would probably be considered squatting now that I'm more familiar with the name.

I have no intentions of selling it and was thinking of just giving it to them or putting it back in the pool as you suggested above. How would one go about doing this?

 

[OZrice]

is there any website for searching whether domainname has a TM worldwide???
only looking up on GOOGLE?

 

[Keith]

I don't see how registering a non trademarked name can be considered squatting. You have every right to register the name if it is good faith. However if you want to dump it back you can cancel with your registrar. I use godaddy and as long as you cancel within 5 days you should get a refund. If your past the cancelation period then you should keep the name to give yourself a chance at maybe selling or developing it. I hope this helps.

keithmt

 

[eventbroker]

It does not matter about the Trademark Issue. Companies had first choice of the .mobi domain names from June 12th,2006 - August 22nd, 2006 to register their names prior to the extension being released to the genral public. In other words they had the chance and missed out!