PuffDaddy.com Expires and Goes to Auction

I saw an interesting name coming up for auction on NameJet, which was also mentioned in the DSAD auction list yesterday. PuffDaddy.com expired in late May, and it is set to go into auction this afternoon.  Sean Combs is a famous musician who was once known by the “Puff Daddy” moniker. His nickname has changed over the years (Puffy, P. Diddy, Diddy…etc) but many people would still recognize the Puff Daddy name.

Prior to its expired status, the domain name was registered privately, but before that, it was registered to a business called Puff Daddy Merchandising, Inc. I believe this business was associated with Sean Combs. If this wasn’t some sort of oversight, I think it was a shorted sighted decision to let the domain name expire.

In my opinion, companies and brand owners need to continue to renew domain names that are relevant to their brand, even if they don’t actively market the brand any longer. It is very likely that these domain names will be bought by someone unaffiliated with the brand. The short term cost is very small, but allowing a third party to have the opportunity to acquire the domain name can be risky. The name could be used for a website or email, and I don’t understand why any business would allow it to happen.

I think this would be a risky domain name for a domain investor to own given how well known the Puff Daddy nickname is and it looks like there are associated  trademarks. I think it would be tough to monetize without infringing on those trademarks, although I am certainly not a legal expert. I suppose someone could use it as a fan site, but it seems like it could be easy for the musician’s company to get back via the legal system or UDRP process. I am getting ahead of myself here, but for something like $10/year, the domain name could have been renewed.

Because I didn’t place a backorder on the domain name, I will not be able to follow the auction at NameJet. As of now, there are 69 bids with a high bid of $136.