It seems like domaining is illegal

[crosswind]

I've just been reading through all the posts about the ACPA and the Lapham Act and the Truth in Domains Act and so forth, and it just seems like most of all of what domain name resellers attempt to do could be construed as illegal or could potentially be taken to court.

There was one article where a girl bought some names with "81" incorporated into them in different ways. 81 is somehow the "symbol" of the Hell's Angels. There is just no way I would know that personally and I can't think of a reason or a way to frame a search term to look it up.

It also seems like a C&D is no longer really required and people can just go in for summary judgment in federal court, so there's a huge potential for a domainer to get caught up by one problem domain term and have all his accounts examined.

I don't know, it just all seems like it's not worth the risk *at all* anymore. I used to think it was cool that a person could buy a domain name and hold it for the possibility that someone else might have a legitimate use for it. he whole idea to me seemed to be that the "real estate" was not taken and could be held by anyone for any reason, and this was a kind of homesteading activity like buying up unused land in speculation. But if you're warehousing domain names, of course you don't have a legitimate use for it except to sell it. You wouldn't buy it if you didn't think there was a possibility someone else wanted to buy it too, so the "bad faith test" will always apply to you if you are a domainer. And if you are a domainer, it would be a waste of time to build out the site.

It seems like these laws are moving closer and closer to outlawing domain speculation. What say you, experts?

 

[Kate]

If you do silling things like register typos of famous trademarks and make money off them, then you will be in trouble sooner or later.
If you own clean/generic domains you should be fine.

I say 'should' because if you have great names you could have to deal with jealous people one day. Just because you did nothing wrong doesn't mean you will never have trouble. No business is without risk.

Outlaw domain speculation ? Why not abolish speculation by the banks and dabbling in the Stock Market. The banks put the world deep in the hole, while domaining has never been any threat to the economy or the well-being of the population.

Now if one country was to move toward outlawing domain speculation, speculators would transfer their business elsewhere and that country is losing out.

In spite of the problems and shady stuff going on in our industry, I think there are more pressing issues IMO.

 

[crosswind]

If you do silling things like register typos of famous trademarks and make money off them, then you will be in trouble sooner or later.
If you own clean/generic domains you should be fine.

I say 'should' because if you have great names you could have to deal with jealous people one day. Just because you did nothing wrong doesn't mean you will never have trouble. No business is without risk.

Outlaw domain speculation ? Why not abolish speculation by the banks and dabbling in the Stock Market. The banks put the world deep in the hole, while domaining has never been any threat to the economy or the well-being of the population.

Now if one country was to move toward outlawing domain speculation, speculators would transfer their business elsewhere and that country is losing out.

In spite of the problems and shady stuff going on in our industry, I think there are more pressing issues IMO.

Absolutely agree! Hm, we can't regulate the banks, so let's regulate internet domain names. To make sure banks get every drop of profit they can squeeze out of the masses. I'm really a bit disgusted.

I was thinking about getting involved with this at a low level. But it seems the safest way to do that is to incorporate to limit personal liability just so some megacorporation can't beat you to death. When the internet was new big corporations barely knew we were here, suddenly there are federal injunctions and trademark rights on common numbers. I've been feeling as I've read about this stuff the past two days that the internet wasn't what it used to be -- or actually what I thought it was. If Citibank can sue citybank and win the computer is on its way to becoming a snazzy portable TV.

 

[labrocca]

I agree with your sentiment but it's not as simple as you say. Legal channels always have to be respected by those wishing to protect their intellectual property. This can be expensive and time consuming with no guarantee of outcome. This is to the benefit of cybersquatters that are breaking the Lanham Act (you had type) knowingly and without regret.

I wouldn't advise newcomers into domaining anyways not just because of legal reasons but because of the poor market.

Domaining is about as illegal as drinking alchohol. You can do it all day long without legal problems but certainly driving, working heavy machinery, or offering it to minors would all be considered illegal.

One truth imho is that many domainers have a poor understanding of IP laws. Many are just ignorant especially on the lower levels. Eventually this is going to probably cause more legislation so that laws are clear.

 

[jberryhill]

The other day I bought a car.

I drove about a hundred feet before I came to a sign that said "STOP". Right there next to the street!

I mean WTF? I don't get into a car and drive, just to be told to stop!

And it's not just that. They expect you to drive between painted lines on the road, and they have speed limit signs, etc etc. It's like they don't even want you to drive a car at all!

 

[Brujah]

What kind of car did you get?

 

[crosswind]

Yeah, what kind of car did you get?

Just kidding.

I see your point. But I'm a web 1.0 kind of person I guess. I mean I remember when you could buy a domain name and start a website called canfieldsdietsoda.com, write all day long on your website about how you used to love the stuff when you were a kid, or hated the stuff when you were a kid, or just, you know, put up pictures of canfield's diet sodas; or just held the name because it was a stupid thing to do, and no one would even *notice* you did it. Canfield's soda company barely even had computers in their offices so "getting caught" was a million miles away from reality. I used to see people start websites that worked something like that, and start to *sell* the soda at retail. The thing was, if you were smart enough, savvy enough, had enough webtech and decent bandwidth, it was all fair game.

The point was, if you got there first then it was probably going to take five years for anyone to even figure out how to log on to discover what they were mad about...

 

[nothere]

The courts are not as dangerous as some stupid NAF and WIPO "impartial" judges. Some of their cases are simply astounding.

 

[~ The 34 Year Buzz!!]

...Domaining is about as illegal as drinking alchohol. You can do it all day long without legal problems but certainly driving, working heavy machinery, or offering it to minors would all be considered illegal...

Interesting comparison labrocca; Makes things really clear.