Domain Names

[arnguy]

Thanks for the correction, The New Guy, Good job. I am still recovering from my hangover.

 

[BiggitySwat]

Not like their used to before the Cybersquatting laws. Back in the day you could buy "generalelectric.com" then hold GE ransom for your "$100,000 fee" to sell it to them. Now you cannot infringe upon any trademark.

I could federally trademark "health solutions agency." Then if anyone bought healthsolutionsagency.com I could sue.

This came about over 15 years ago when rather savvy people bought thousands of trademarked domain names then held companies hostage over fees to recover the domain name.

Worse yet if the company didn't give in to their demands they'd turn the address into a porn site. Years and years ago maryland.com used to be a porn site.

There is a guy in Korea who is cybersquatting a .com domain that is the same name as my company. Though it expires in 1 month, if he renews, I am screwed. If I go through the hassle of going for the federal trademark, do you think I should sue him off the domain? I hesitate because he's in Korea and it may be hard for an American attorney to get to him there?

 

[The New Guy]

The first thing I would do is go to a register of domain names, and place a backorder for that name.

I think that can be done for $30 or less.

That way, if it does go expired, you stand a good chance of obtaining the name.

I would do that today, then on Monday call an attorney, I'm sure they will tell you it's not worth the hassle or expense to pursue.

I would just buy another extension of the same domain name. Like .biz, .info, or .us

Or add a word to the end or beginning of the domain you want. Example: instead of biggityswat.com, make it mybiggityswat.com, something of that nature.

 

[Alston]

I think that The New Guy gave good advice.

He now has almost 500 posts should consider changing his name ;-) Maybe to the agent formerly known as "The New Guy"?

Back to the issue at hand:

I would stick with .com if at all possible.

Hopefully you can get the domain name you want, but if not, you may want to consider changing the name on your business cards and other literature to match the domain name you choose.

 

[J.R.]

I'd simply ask him if you can purchase the domain name. I'm not a lawyer, but I believe that trademarks only protect you from US based companies.

Just make sure you register the name AFTER conducting a search. I had a great idea for a website name and bought it along with all the different extensions.

Then, a friend of mine sent me some information about a competitor who had already registered the name and obtained a trademark.

Lesson learned....

 

[lookin4abetterwayinpa]

Ok, so I work with a guy whos son is one of those tech freaks, which I am not. The "kid", was offered a full ride to play football at Villanova, but chose DeVry tech instead, thats what he wants to do.

Anyway, I know him well enough, and he is a pretty smart kid. He even designed the site for the votech school he went to in high school. He has won multiple awards in his communtiy for IT. We have talked about my site, and it basically comes down to he will scratch my back if I scratch his.

He will design my site, anyway I want to for free. His only stipulation is that he wants to have his name at the bottom of the home page saying that he built the site. Again, this kid is very credible, as far as his ability, and I trust him, it just sounds to good to be true. Any advice?

 

[The New Guy]

I wouldn't contact the person until after it has expired.

If you contact them before hand, they will know there is at least some interest in the name, and be more likely to renew it themselves in hopes of making a profit.

Do the backorder first with one of the larger register companies.

If the domain name has some longevity, and or, page rank, chances are you'll never see the name anyway.

Somebody who buys domains professionally, would already have it on their radar, and have back-ordered it.

Good luck, let us know how it turns out.

 

[The New Guy]

Ok, so I work with a guy whos son is one of those tech freaks, which I am not. The "kid", was offered a full ride to play football at Villanova, but chose DeVry tech instead, thats what he wants to do.

Anyway, I know him well enough, and he is a pretty smart kid. He even designed the site for the votech school he went to in high school. He has won multiple awards in his communtiy for IT. We have talked about my site, and it basically comes down to he will scratch my back if I scratch his.

He will design my site, anyway I want to for free. His only stipulation is that he wants to have his name at the bottom of the home page saying that he built the site. Again, this kid is very credible, as far as his ability, and I trust him, it just sounds to good to be true. Any advice?

Start organizing your sites colors, layout, content, and photos.

Decide how many pages you want, and start writing the content.

Determine the keywords you wish to seek, and write a meta description, 10 to 20 words that describe your sites objective.

That should save your programmer a few hours of work, and get you going in the right direction.

 

[lookin4abetterwayinpa]

Start organizing your sites colors, layout, content, and photos.

Ok, I have that.

Decide how many pages you want, and start writing the content.

Still working on it.

Determine the keywords you wish to seek, and write a meta description, 10 to 20 words that describe your sites objective.

What if I only want a site for credability? I am not trying to drive traffic to it, or get business from it, as of yet?

That should save your programmer a few hours of work, and get you going in the right direction.

Thanks again. I somehow worded my response and questions into your quotation, thats how good I am, tehcnically, lol.

 

[BiggitySwat]

Do the backorder first with one of the larger register companies.

Can you either post or PM me a decent "backordering" company which is reliable? There are so many on Google.