Recently, a UDRP was filed against the SIDI.com domain name. The complainant in that case is listed as Sidi Sport S.r.l. A recent update on the status of the UDRP now shows it as “Terminated.”
This morning, Jamie Zoch shared via Twitter that Sidi.com is now owned by Sidi Sport S.r.l.:
Sidi Sport S.r.l. acquires #domain name https://t.co/tFod2xs5JR from Best Web.
— Jamie Zoch (@yofie) November 16, 2015
A Whois search confirms this, and visiting Sidi.com takes you to Sidi.it, the Sidi Sports website.
Jamie and I had a brief discussion on Twitter about this, and my guess is that the two parties were able to reach some sort of settlement where the former owner sold the domain name instead of responding to the UDRP and/or filing a lawsuit in response to the UDRP. It is also possible that the owner handed over the domain name in order to avoid losing a UDRP proceeding. I do not know what happened in this case.
My guess about a sale is based on two factors. First, I would imagine a 4 letter pronounceable domain name like this is defensible in a UDRP, and I do not believe it would have been a certain victory for the complainant. Secondly, I think Sidi.com is likely a five figure domain name, and losing this revenue opportunity could be more damaging than potentially losing a UDRP proceeding. Obviously that really depends on the former owner of the domain name.
I reached out to the former registrant of the domain name to see if he could share any details about the transfer, and I will share more information if I can.
One other important thing is that if you receive a UDRP for one of your domain names, it’s always a good idea to contact an attorney with UDRP experience first. A good domain name attorney should be able to guide you through the UDRP response process.
The domain owner was parking the name with ads directly related to the company brand/products, which owns many TMs on the term.
I think they handed over the domain or just got a symbolic amount for it … very little or no chances IMHO to win the UDRP case …
I didn’t check prior usage.
Does this mean ,do not park valuable domains with ads?
I think you need to make sure your domain names that are parked are not showing ads that may be infringing on companies with those trademarks.
Understood 🙂