Cmbilt.com said:
its a good hack, but I wouldnt say its any where near 5 figure domain.
Scuba.pro isn't a hack. Blo.gs, Tel.ly, Inter.net, Chronolo.gy, Del.icio.us are hacks. Scuba.pro is a generic keyword followed by an extension, it works on a standalone basis. Hacks spell out generic words or phrases by combining letter combinations, words, and extensions. There is a big difference.
If Scuba.pro is a hack, then every .pro registered is a hack of some two or three word .com that includes the word pro, and that's not true. Generic keywords followed by any extension are fair game.
As Ben42 points out, Scuba.pro is not the same as Scubapro (TM). One is a domain with a dot in, the other is a text mark, they are two completely different things.
If this wasn't the case there would have been a rush of UDPR claims against LL.com. LLL.com, LL.net, and LLL.net holders where somebody had registered LLcom, LLLcom, LLnet, or LLLnet as a trademark before the .coms and .nets were registered and I haven't seen a single UDRP claim of this nature.
Any attempt by Scubapro.com to acquire Scuba.pro via the UDRP would be a blatant reverse domain hijacking attempt and they could be countersued. A claimant would never be able to prove bad faith or that the registrant doesn't have a legitimate interest in the word scuba because it's generic and any claimant would be expected to know it.
What you are picking up here is the fact .pro is the most naturally brandable domain extension, so brandable that .com registrants glue it to a generic keyword so they can try to get it trademarked. "ScubaPro" is still too descriptive to register as a trademark for scuba equipment which is why ScubaPro's registered category reads as follows;
"Water Sports Equipment-Namely, Regulators, Tank Assemblies and Accessories, Harnesses, Snorkels, Masks, Fins, Spearguns and Accessories, Suits, Belts, Weights, Diving Accessories and Safety Devices."
Note they deliberately leave out the word Scuba because then ScubaPro would be descriptive and you can't register a descriptice phrase as a trademark. Therefore, they couldn't subsequently claim they have the right to anything to do with scuba because its generic and they didn't include it in their trademark to begin with.
Valuewise, I would say exactly the same as mjs. If you don't get an offer that suits in the XX,XXX range, develop it. Scubapro (TM) has no legal right to it so their only option is to buy it.
