Domainers Lose Big Time In Verizon Cybersquatting Lawsuit

from the poor-domainers dept

Eric Goldman has the details on a lawsuit that should make various typosquatting "domainers" (those who register tons of domain names on typos or other variations of a brand name) a bit nervous. The court came down hard on domaining in general, and domain "tasting" more specifically. The domainer in question tried to get around the law by claiming that by just "tasting" the domain (i.e., holding onto it for the 5 day grace period before you have to pay for it), they weren't running afoul of laws concerning registering someone else's trademarked names.

What's odd, though, and Goldman doesn't seem to understand it either, is that it wasn't just the domainer who got slammed, but the registrar through which the domainer registered the domains. That seems questionable, as the registrar should just be a third party service provider, and protected from any liability from the actions of the user.

Filed Under: domain names, domain tasting, domainers, trademark

Dallas Cowboys Return Cowboys.com After Thinking The Price Was $275 Instead Of $275,000

from the false-start.--10-yard-penalty dept

The domain name business is hot again, driving up the price of popular domains names, sometimes to ridiculous levels. However, it appears that no one briefed the Dallas Cowboys on what these types of things typically cost. The owner of the domain cowboys.com recently sold it in a domain auction, with the winning bid of $275,000 going to the Cowboys. Apparently, on receiving the invoice, the Dallas Cowboys are claiming that it was a mistake -- they thought the bid had been for $275, not $275,000 -- and therefore, they wish to cancel the sale. Of course, some people are suggesting that this is merely a cop out from a team that has a bit of buyer's remorse. It does seem a bit bizarre that anyone would think they could get such a domain for $275.

Filed Under: cowboys.com, domain names, domainers, football
Companies: dallas cowboys