Moral domain dilemma

[Langfhir]

Maybe someone can help me out here:

There's a .COM on auction I'm interested in buying. It's an expiring domain which is currently registered by a company who also has the other gTLD's of this name (.NET, .ORG, .INFO, and .BIZ).

I don't think they realize the .COM is expiring, and according to the WHOIS the other extensions have been renewed. I'm pretty sure the name is not trademarked. Would it be right for me to buy this name and then try to sell it back to them, or would that be in bad faith? Or just bad taste?

 

[MicroGuy]

I've seen many, many cases where the company for whatever reason is dropping them all with the .COM being the first to drop. I would not rule that out, but without knowing the domain any further advice would be handicapped.

 

[krx]

IF it's a commercial entity and the domain is important to their operations and they've lost it due to negligence or ineptitude, then the company may not be long for the business world - given that it's not likely to be the only instance of their ineptitude. I wouldn't worry too much about it. On the other hand I wouldn't buy the domain just to sell it back to them. I would buy it if I saw a good use for it and/or a broader market than this one company. If in the aftermath they approach you wanting the name back then you're in a position to work out a win-win deal with them while taking into consideration your other options for the name. You''re also not left with a useless name if they in fact don't want it anymore.

 

[HBK216]

I am normally of the belief that all is fair game. However in this case, registering it just to try & pitch it to them exclusively seems quite unethical. If you had a use for the name or had other potential end users, that would be a completely different story.

Overall if they are renewing the other extensions & not the .com, I would question if they care about it. Who would purposely renew everything but the .com unless they were a country outside the U.S. with a strong country extension like a .co.uk which has the majority of its traffic.

 

[DavidH]

What potential is there for other end users for this non trademarked (hopefully generic) dot com?

If you are relying on a possible purchase by only one end user, I would look elsewhere.

If there are other possible users, I would regard it as fair game and go forit, including the original registrant in the emailing when you decide to offer it for sale.

 

[Michael]

If you do that, be prepared to be called a cybersquatter by the company, because they won't be happy (assuming they care about the domain). Offer it for a fair price to compensate you for your time, but don't get greedy. Make sure there are no TMs (common law or otherwise), and that the term is fairly generic. Otherwise I would move on, especially if selling to this one company is your only exit strategy.