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Lorenzo International Limited Takes Aim at Tucows’ Lorenzo.com

Elliot Silver
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17

According to the  World Intellectual Property Organization’s website, it appears that Lorenzo International Limited has filed a UDRP for the generic, first-name domain name, Lorenzo.com, which is owned and operated by Tucows.

From the outset and without any specific information related to this case, I believee Lorenzo International Limited will have a difficult time proving it’s case.  At the present time, Lorenzo.com is being used by Tucows as a vanity email service, and the domain name appears to be a part of the company’s  NetIdentity suite of first and last name domain names. In fact, it wasregistered to NetIdentity prior to Tucows’ acquisition.

Tucows has already successfully defended a number of similar cases, including UDRP filings for:

Tucows has lost a few similar UDRP filings, perhaps giving hope to Lorenzo International Limited. In the  Aubert.com filing, there was a dissenting opinion. The  Ricard.com UDRP and the  Weidner.com UDRP were lost as well. The  Dunlap.com UDRP was terminated due to a lawsuit filed in Ontario.

In the Walls.com UDRP linked above, the company successfully defending its ownership while citing its use of the domain name in question, which to me, also seems to be applicable for Lorenzo.com:

“Since 1996, NetIdentity had been providing personalized e-mail blogging and web-hosting services through a collection of personal surname addresses.    NetIdentity had acquired thousands of surname domain names such as <smith.net> and including the disputed domain name <walls.com>.  Customers with hosted websites with NetIdentity are given third level domain names corresponding to their own first name and surname, e.g. <bill.smith.net>.    Netidentity had this secured over 70% of US surnames as domain names.”

Considering the similar circumstances between the Lorenzo.com domain name and the Walls.com domain name, I don’t see why the company shouldn’t retain the rights to Lorenzo.com.

In my opinion, it’s upsetting that a company can so easily try and claim rights to a generic domain name that is being used by another company for its business operations. Of course Tucows can easily afford the legal fees in such an instance, but it’s upsetting to me that Tucows needs to defend this domain name.

Alleged Domain Theft Involving 3 Letter Domain Names

Elliot Silver
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4

Someone posting under the handle “Toilet-Monster” posted a warning on DNForum this morning about a reported domain theft that allegedly occurred with his Godaddy account. The DNF member has a iTrader rating of 30 and has been a member of the domain forum since 2007.

According to Toilet-Monster (great name, BTW), the following 3 letter .com domain names were allegedly  pilfered  from his Godaddy account:

  • EOZ.com
  • GEQ.com
  • KPT.com
  • RIJ.com
  • UWU.com

In addition to these valuable domain names, a number of other names, including 4 letter domain names, were also taken. Visit DNForum for the list of domain names.

If someone approaches you to sell names quickly, for less than market value, or using a payment method that doesn’t seem right, you should be extra cautious. It’s also your responsibility to do due  diligence  on the domain names and the seller whenever you complete a deal. If you don’t, you could risk your money and the domain names.

What to Do If Someone Backs Out of a Domain Deal

Elliot Silver
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10

If you’ve been investing in domain names long enough, it’s likely that you’ve experienced one of the most frustrating things that can happen to a domain investor. You’ve agreed to buy a domain name and the owner decides to back out for some reason.

For some it’s just frustrating, but for others there are bigger issues. Perhaps you started building out the domain name before you were in possession of it, or maybe you contacted potential buyers hoping to quickly flip it. Whatever the case, it’s a disappointment to say the least.

You may have options of you have an agreement in place, even if you don’t have an “official” contract with the seller.

My first recommendation is to be in touch with the seller and let him know you are not satisfied with the situation, especially if there isn’t an error/mistake behind the deal breaking down. Discuss options for buying other domain names or work out some sort of agreeable financial settlement for your inconvenience.

If this can’t be worked out, let him know you plan to seek legal council to remedy the situation if necessary. I like to keep lawyers out these types of situations, but let the seller know that is an option and perhaps just that threat will get him to sell, especially if he was reluctant to sell due to a higher offer.

Let the person know you plan to blog/write about the situation on a domain forum. If the seller is wrong and doesn’t have a good excuse (ie he received a higher offer or just doesn’t want to sell anymore), others should be warned about this for the future. If you opt for this route, make sure you state the facts accurately because what is written can not be taken back.

If you’ve exhausted all efforts on your own, you should be in touch with a lawyer who has domain name and IP experience (see this list of  domain name lawyers). A lawyer may be expensive, but if this is a key acquisition, you’ll want to know your legal recourse to complete the sale.

Who is Lovells?

Elliot Silver
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28

A couple of months ago on Ycombinator, someone mentioned that he sold a domain name “to some woman claiming inexorably to want it for “just a personal homepage,'” but it turned out the company that acquired it appeared to be Facebook. The domain owner had sold the name for $1,500.

Although the information on the Whois record lists Facebook as the domain registrant, the email address on the record is globaladmin@lovellsnames.org. So who the heck is Lovells?

I did a bit of research, and it looks like the globaladmin@lovellsnames.org email address is connected to a number of very good domain names. Some of these names appear to include:

  • Play.com
  • Loco.com
  • Elegant.com
  • FB.me
  • Facebook.at
  • Bin.com

There were a number of other domain names, including some Facebook ccTLD domain names, but these are the most notable names I found during my cursory search.

I did notice a non-descriptive domain name that had the same registrant email address, and it might give a clue about Lovells. HoganLovells.com is registered to that same email address. Hogan Lovells is pretty huge law firm with over 40 offices around the world.

As Mike Berkens once wrote, the “1st Rule Of Dealing With Domain Offers Is: People Lie.“

Advice on Legal Questions

Elliot Silver
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0

Have you ever taken a look at the terms and conditions page when you register a domain name or buy one in the aftermarket? In almost all cases, they are huge, and to someone without a legal degree, there are a lot of issues that aren’t exactly clear.

As a domain investor, I have read about quite a few legal issues on various websites, UDRP sites, and domain forums. It’s given me a basic understanding of domain related law, but not enough to provide any real advice to anyone.

For some reason, in the last few days, I’ve received a number of emails asking me for domain name legal advice. I’ve recommended that the people ask an IP lawyer with domain name experience. Sure, I might be able to give accurate advice, but I might also give bad advice that a lawyer would never give.

If you have a legal question, it’s best to ask a lawyer. I provided a list of domain name lawyers a while back, but here’s a refresher since there seems to be quite a few legal questions right now.

A lawyer may not be cheap, but bad advice can be costly.

Why I Am Not Worried About Domain Name Seizures

Elliot Silver
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25

There have been a surprising number of mainstream articles regarding the United States’ Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a division of the Department of Homeland Security. Apparently, ICE seized the domain names of alleged file sharing websites without any type of notice to them. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I received so many “did you see this” emails/phone calls from friends who aren’t in the business.

I will preface this by saying that I don’t like the idea of the government acting as judge and juror, while not seeming to give the website and/or domain name owners the opportunity to defend their actions. It’s scary that the government can simply take over some websites at it’s whim without the owner’s chance to defend his or her actions..

However, if the companies that own the websites are or were doing something illegal while violating the rights of people in the US (whom ICE is responsible to protect), this seizure is not such a huge deal as some might make it out to be. I think John Berryhill’s comment on Mike Berkens’ blog sums it up pretty well, comparing the seizure to that of a drug smuggler whose boat was used to smuggle drugs illegally.

Eventually, these website operates should have their day in court, but taking away their platform is a way to temporarily stop them from doing what the government believes is an illegal act (although it seems pretty simple to move to another domain name).  I don’t know where to draw the line when it comes to seizures such as this, but if a company happens to be brazenly  flouting  the law, I am not opposed to government intervention. If these website operators are in the right, then they will certainly have their day in court.

Some people seem to be making a big leap by fearing their domain names could potentially be put at risk. Sure, if you are doing something the US government finds  blatantly  illegal, then perhaps yours could be at risk. If someone is arrested for smoking weed in a public park, or firing a gun in the air in that park, it doesn’t mean you are being put at risk of arrest if you go for a jog in the park. If people were being rounded up for having a picnic in the park, that would be a different story.

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