Domain name Rip Off!

Archtop Eddy

Hi all -- just want to let you know about a rotten thing that happened to my band, Mango fan Django.

Don't let it happen to you!

We let our domain name "Mangofandjango.com" expire (long story...) and some slugs took control of it. They're using it in a "park" mode for advertisements. Of course, what they'd like is for us to pay some outrageous money to get the name back. Ironically, the website they are parking the name at is picking up "Django" related names from the local Colorado area so if you type in our domain name in the Colorado area you get links to other Colorado Gypsy Jazz bands. I know the fellas in these bands and they're good folks--they have nothing to do with what happened. But this whole thing goes to show how low the slugs who took our domain name are, using it in ways to add insult to injury. We were getting a lot of hits on our pages and feel bad for the people who are trying to find/contact us.

The point of my rambling: Don't let slugs like these get to you. Keep your domain name current.

We're changing our's to "mangofandjango.net" and have a "watch-out" going for the "mangofandjango.com". If it comes free, I should get it back.

It's not the end of the world, but it sucks people will screw with you like this. Some people will do anything to make a buck...

AE

V-dub

The exact same thing happened to me at www. anouman.com . Somehow these dirtbags automatically harvest expiring domains and try to sell them back to the previous owners for absurd prices. It's a pretty damn dishonest way to make money, if you ask me.

Lesson learned: if you want to keep your domain, NEVER let it expire. The only reason I did was because I wanted to switch to a different domain registry for cheaper rates. If this is the case with you, you should switch it with your domain registry BEFORE it expires... most domain registries have options to do so.

Archtop Eddy

Thanks for the input. My guess is that there other's out there who've had the same problems. I'm just glad to see that more than a 100 people have read this post, so at least some of them can be wiser by our misery.

It makes me wonder though... The internet is still like the Wild West -- making up its own rules as it goes along. Since most of us one way or another have to use the internet to promote our music, anyone else have any "experiences" they'd like to share with us of which we should be aware?

AE

wayne nakamura

Ditto Eddy for www.swingdeparis.com. The band member who was in charge of the domain name also was the website host. He didn't keep on top of it and I found out when people started emailing to find out where we were playing and couldn't reach the website. When the band member finally looked into it he found out that we no longer owned it. Great! F-ing great! Now all my business cards and cds have the wrong website.

We received a government grant to promote the band and he wanted to use the grant to buy back the url. Right!

Shortly after I folded up the band. What's the point?

Wayne

Bob Holo

If the name is of economic value to you as a representation of the services of your band and the URL is the trademark of your band, and they are putting it to no significant economic use, then they are squatting on it and you have a case against them.

There are laws against squatting. It might cost you several hundred dollars to get an attorney to write a letter on your behalf, but a good letter from a good lawfirm can convince a scumbag that you're not a pushover and that his best course of action is to lose the battle so he can survive to fight again. So, if you know a good honest business attorney - he or she can direct you to do a little self education - and perhaps even recommend an attorney to handle your case.

Let the attorney handle it, but suffice it to say - if you were putting it to good use in conjunction with your business and brand mark (band name), and they stole it - and you inform them of that fact and they attempt to sell it to you substantially above market price - you have them by the short & curlies. (as should be the case) If they go so far as to steal it and proactively contact you and attempt to sell it to you for a price that is significantly above market - then they are in big trouble.

That's all I know about it. Our in-house counsel handles all that and he is not available for private work - but any good business attorney should be able to put you in the right direction. Your mileage may vary depending on the circumstances - but if they are as you've described them - you're in the right.

If you want more info - google ICANN or ACPA or UDRP those are the acronyms describing the relevant areas of law.

http://www.icann.org/udrp/udrp.htm
http://www.internic.net/faqs/udrp.html
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/udrp/library.html
http://www.chillingeffects.org/udrp/faq.cgi

The only way to discourage scumbuckets is to convince them that they've chosen the wrong path in life. Stand up and take some action that will allow them to feel the full brunt of the ramifications of their actions.

Archtop Eddy

Bob -- thanks for the insightful information. I know this will be of great importance to those out there who are gaining significantly from their websites. It's good to know there is some action that can be taken against these snakes. Even though there has only been a handful of postings on this thread, I'm sure it has been very informative to a lot of our fellow Djangoheads out there. On behalf of myself and them, thanks for your useful posting.

A.E.