Thanks everyone for your comments! Here is the complaint in it's entirety except for where I've edited out names and such. The comments in red are mine, of course.
4th August 2006
Domicilium (10M) Ltd Domicilium House
32-34 Malew Street Castletown
Isle of Man
IM91AF
Dear Sirs,
Complaint
1. We write to lodge a complaint about the abusive registration of a domain name that [A Bunch Of Noobs, Inc.] attempted to purchase on the 1st July 2006 when the new .im domain became available.
Okee Dokee
2. The background to the complaint is that at approximately 12.20 am on the 1st July, our IT Manager [Nick Domnoob] created a new account on the
www.nic.im site and added, on behalf of the firm, inter alia,
www.lawyer.im to his shopping basket.
Ok, you put the name in your shopping cart... good first step to registering it.
3. When Mr. [Domnoob] arrived at work on the following Monday morning (3rd July), he had received an email from Domicilium (the company who is regulating and managing the .im domain on behalf of the Government). The email requested that he click on a link to confirm the registration. Mr. [Domnoob] duly did so and at that stage, all of the domains that we had expressed an interest in were still in this firm's shopping basket.
So, you left the domain sitting in your basket over the weekend? Since it was still there when you got back to work, it MUST still be reserved for your firm! (I really don't understand why they got an email reminder from Domicilium though?)
4. On 4th July, Mr. [Domnoob] attempted to pay for the domains using a credit card. For some reason, the payment procedure failed. At this juncture, Mr. [Domnoob] contacted Domicilium and asked if they could invoice the firm for the various domains. Domicilium set up a new registration on the nic.im site and it was at this point that the domain name was lost, even though there was no negligence on our part. Mr. [Domnoob] was subsequently advised by Domicilium that as he did not complete the payment within one hour after commencing, the domains once again became available, notwithstanding that we had expressed an interest in the domains and contacted Domicilium with a view to arranging payment for them.
No negligence!?!? You left the domain in your basket for over 72 hours and then attempted to pay for it! I wonder why your payment failed!? BTW, I registered the domain on July 5th according to the whois! What were you guy's doing to keep you from getting the name? (Again, I am confused about their statement that "Domicilium set up a new registration on the nic.im site and it was at this point that the domain name was lost." How could it have been lost when my whois say's I reg'd the domain on the 5th???)
5. We are aware that the Respondent's details are as follows: [Me, my address, my phone, etc.]
Yup, that's me.
6. We understand that the nameserver that Mr. [Me] is registered under is what is known as a domain parking site where people store unwanted domains to sell them on later.
You are right about it being called a domain parking site. Good research! I really like the statement that "...people store unwanted domains to sell them on later." What an awesome idea. I have some domains that I don't want. I'll just store them here at Sedo until I decide to sell them.
7. We note that at paragraph 3 (A) (i) (a) of the IM Dispute Resolution Procedure, it states that "a non-exhaustive list of factors which may be evidence that the domain name is an abusive registration is ... circumstances indicating that the Respondent has registered or otherwise acquired the domain name primarily for the purposes of selling, renting or otherwise transferring the domain name to the Complainant or to a competitor of the Complainant, for valuable consideration in excess of the Respondent's documented out-of-pocket costs directly associated with acquiring or using the domain name".
This is where the true genius of lawyers comes into play. What a good way to use this paragraph against me. If I sell it to anyone in the practice of law, then that's a competitor (and a no-no). I haven't tried to sell it though, especially not to them. This of course would've been impossible, since I didn't know they existed. I've since decided that I won't sell it to anyone, for any amount of money, unless it's much less than what I paid for it (jk). Of course, I really chose this domain to later develop it. Just like every other dang domain I own.
8. It is absurd that the domain name is registered to someone in the United States who, in all likelihood, has no connection with the Isle of Man or more importantly, the law or the provision of legal services on the Island. It is clear that the Respondent has no other interest in the domain name except to make a profit.
Nope, that's where you're wrong. I am in this business to lose sleep, add stress to my life, provoke arguments with my spouse, spend less time with my daughter, lose massive amounts of money, and to generally kick myself over bad decisions. USA kicks ass, by the way!
9. The IM Rules at paragraph 3.2 states that "We (Domicilium) will accept applications which comply with the Rules and register domain names on a first come first served basis." In this case, it was only an error at the payment stage that caused the domain names to be lost. To all intents and purposes, this firm was the first to attempt to register the domain name.
How in the world can you make this statement? The only accurate statement that can be made about your activity was that you possibly were the first entity to put the domain in your cart. The attempt to actually register the domain came over 3 days later!
10. In the circumstances, we suggest that the domain name is transferred to this firm as the names were in our shopping basket and would have been paid for and registered had there not been a problem with the payment stage.
Yeah, uh huh, right. You obviously are under the misconception that once a domain is in your shopping cart, no one else can grab it while you're all out partying over the weekend.
11. In compliance with the IM Dispute Resolution Procedure, we confirm that the information contained in this complaint is true and complete to the best of our knowledge.
To the best of YOUR knowledge is probably an accurate statement.
12. We are not aware of any legal proceedings that have been commenced or terminated in connection with the
www.lawyer.im domain name.
That's because there have been none. Duh.
13. [A Bunch Of Noobs, Inc.] will submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Isle of Man courts with respect to any legal proceedings seeking to reverse the decision requiring the suspension, cancellation, transfer or other amendment to a domain name registration and we agree that any such legal proceedings will be governed by Manx law.
Me too, I guess.
14. We agree that our claim and any remedies concerning the registration of the domain name, the dispute, or the dispute's resolution shall be solely against the Respondent and that neither you nor your employees shall be liable for anything done or omitted in connection with any proceedings under the Dispute Resolution Service.
This relieves Nic.im of all responsibility when it comes to the registrar's systems or actions leading to the loss of the domain in question. That's the way I read it anyway. The 1-hour+ lagtime, nic.im not explaining to you guys how a domain shopping basket works, etc... all is forgiven by this statement!
15. We also agree that if the Designated Official orders a transfer of the domain name, we will be bound by your Terms and Conditions for the Registration of Domain Names, and in particular, the provisions relating to your processing of personal data.
I don't see it happening, personally.
16. Our [personal android, Mr. Ly Likeadog], a partner in our commercial department, is available to discuss this matter on [their phone number and email addy].
I think that if you had a leg to stand on, they would have just transferred the name to you since you've proven so completely that it was entirely a series of unfortunate technical issues that resulted in the loss of YOUR domain.
We look forward to hearing from you on this matter.
Yours [pitifully],
[A Bunch Of Noobs, Inc.]
You probably can't tell by my humorous attitude but, I AM SOOOOO PISSED ABOUT THIS TIME WASTING BULLCRAP! :yell: