What to do with a very valuable abandoned domain name?

[pturn]

About ten years ago, I helped a friend-of-a-friend manage a domain name they originally registered back in the 1990s. Because the domain was clearly valuable, I recommended renewing it for 10 years to keep it secure. Since then, the value of the domain has increased significantly.

If this domain were to expire today and go to auction, it would almost certainly sell for at least $250,000, and likely $500,000 or more. It’s in the same tier as domains like fuse.com, gx.com, mine.com, or dollars.com. My contact details are listed in the WHOIS, and I receive unsolicited purchase inquiries every month.

The domain is now set to expire again in a few months. Unfortunately, the person I originally helped has disappeared. They have not responded to any of my emails for over five years. The credit card previously used for renewals has expired, and the domain itself is unused, it doesn’t resolve to a website and has no associated email. The owner is quite elderly and may have passed away, but I haven’t been able to find an obituary or any public record confirming this.

I will continue trying to contact the owner and hope I can eventually reach them. That said, I want to think through the options in advance in case I’m ultimately unable to locate them or their heirs.

Here are the options I can think of:

1. Let the domain expire and go to a GoDaddy auction (where GoDaddy would likely capture $250,000+ in value).
2. Renew the domain myself and continue trying indefinitely to reach the owner until I die and my heirs continue the process.
3. Take control of the domain on the basis that it appears abandoned, after making good-faith efforts to contact the owner, and then use or sell it myself.
4. Sell the domain and place all proceeds in a dedicated account to be held for the owner or their heirs if they are ever found.
5. Sell the domain and split the proceeds 50/50, half to me, half held in a dedicated account for the owner or their heirs.
6. Sell the domain and donate all proceeds to a charity.

Are there any legal or ethical precedents for situations like this? I’d appreciate any suggestions, guidance, or opinions on how best to handle this responsibly. If people tell me that it is ethical for me to keep the domain for myself that would make me very happy but I am not looking for an excuse to do what I want, I am looking for real opinions.

 

[cooljub]

Hi, welcome to np

The fist thing I’d do is renew it to give myself time to decide what to do.

 

[forge]

a friend-of-a-friend

So there's a "middle man" here. Have you asked for their input? Are you still in contact?

 

[Gabriel360]

If the domain name is worth asking much as you say and you have the power to renew it (which appears to be the case), there is ZERO reason to even consider option 1.

Just spend $100 to renew the domain name for the next 10 years and see how it goes from there.

Don't dawdle and allow GoDaddy profit off the domain.

 

[alcy]

About ten years ago, I helped a friend-of-a-friend manage a domain name they originally registered back in the 1990s. Because the domain was clearly valuable, I recommended renewing it for 10 years to keep it secure. Since then, the value of the domain has increased significantly.

If this domain were to expire today and go to auction, it would almost certainly sell for at least $250,000, and likely $500,000 or more. It’s in the same tier as domains like fuse.com, gx.com, mine.com, or dollars.com. My contact details are listed in the WHOIS, and I receive unsolicited purchase inquiries every month.

The domain is now set to expire again in a few months. Unfortunately, the person I originally helped has disappeared. They have not responded to any of my emails for over five years. The credit card previously used for renewals has expired, and the domain itself is unused, it doesn’t resolve to a website and has no associated email. The owner is quite elderly and may have passed away, but I haven’t been able to find an obituary or any public record confirming this.

I will continue trying to contact the owner and hope I can eventually reach them. That said, I want to think through the options in advance in case I’m ultimately unable to locate them or their heirs.

Here are the options I can think of:

1. Let the domain expire and go to a GoDaddy auction (where GoDaddy would likely capture $250,000+ in value).
2. Renew the domain myself and continue trying indefinitely to reach the owner until I die and my heirs continue the process.
3. Take control of the domain on the basis that it appears abandoned, after making good-faith efforts to contact the owner, and then use or sell it myself.
4. Sell the domain and place all proceeds in a dedicated account to be held for the owner or their heirs if they are ever found.
5. Sell the domain and split the proceeds 50/50, half to me, half held in a dedicated account for the owner or their heirs.
6. Sell the domain and donate all proceeds to a charity.

Are there any legal or ethical precedents for situations like this? I’d appreciate any suggestions, guidance, or opinions on how best to handle this responsibly. If people tell me that it is ethical for me to keep the domain for myself that would make me very happy but I am not looking for an excuse to do what I want, I am looking for real opinions.

nothing like guy asking others what's ethical

focking promising

 

[Bravo Mod Team]

This is a very interesting situation.

I've seen someone knowledgeable comment on a similar situation many years ago, but I can't find it.

It might've been @jberryhill?

 

[D Haynes]

Of your details are listed as the registrant in the whois aren't you technically the owner anyway?

 

[pturn]

So there's a "middle man" here. Have you asked for their input? Are you still in contact?

"Friend-of-a-friend" is an imprecise description of the relationship. The "friend" is someone I encountered professionally who referred me to the domain's owner. I am unable to locate the middle man. Admittedly, I have not tried very hard.

Of your details are listed as the registrant in the whois aren't you technically the owner anyway?

Yes, in the loosest sense. The domain registrar may consider me to be the owner and permit me to make unilateral changes to the domain name. Dollars to donuts, an ICANN representative, UDRP panelist or legal representative of the owner will disagree. The transfer of the domain into my control was for management, not an intentional transfer of ownership. The change of whois details into my name was human error when filling out the registrant and technical contact fields. An attorney for the client (or his heirs) may theorize that I have executed a decades-long plan to give myself a plausible basis upon which to assert ownership over a high value domain by making a "human error" when filling out the registrant details after suspecting the client may not be of this world come renewal.

 

[jberryhill]

I've seen someone knowledgeable comment on a similar situation many years ago, but I can't find it.

It might've been @jberryhill?

I have a vague memory of commenting on a similar situation. But these things often turn on very specific facts. I’m pretty sure I have advised more than one person who had been in a part ownership role or custodial role in this sort of thing. But things like in what jurisdiction an agreement might be said to have been made, can matter.

There was one notable set of lawsuits about a person who arranged to have someone hold domain names on behalf of another person who had to spend some time in a federal facility for a while. A disagreement about those terms developed after he got out.

For example, let’s say I ask you to hold a domain that expires next year. You don’t hear from me and you renew it on your own for six years. What did I “own” in the first place.

 

[E. Silvera]

Hi @pturn , welcome to NP!

I think option 1 (letting the domain expire) is to be absolutely ruled out; not only would it be an unnecessary waste, but also, fundamentally, you would risk being accused, by the owner or their successors, of neglecting their property. They could even seek for indemnification, should they happen to see the domain auctioned off for a high sum.

Naturally, as I understand from what @jberryhill wrote above, it would depend on the specific particulars of your agreement with the owner. I think you would benefit from making a legal consultation in order to decide what to do after renewing.

 

[zomainhacks]

Sell the domain and split the proceeds 50/50, half to me, half held in a dedicated account for the owner or their heirs.

I think this is the most moral thing to do if you want to sell or are tired renewing