speaking of domains

I'm hoping someone out there might know how this process works. I have been trying to get woodphotography . com for a while.  I was happy to see the current owner (who never used it and refused to sell it for 6 years) was letting it expire last month.  I back-ordered it thru go daddy, but I didn't get it.  Now it is just a page full of ads and isn't even used by a real photography company.  That sucks!   I have seen things online, where a company would file a dispute with icann or something if they wanted and had business interest in a domain that was owned by another party who was just using it to redirect traffic.   How does that work?  It isn't the biggest deal in the world, so I'm not gonna' pay any big bucks to try and get it, but I don't really know what my options/chances are. Thanks! ~Brad

I had seen this a while back, and thought it was interesting reading, somewhat related to what Brad is talking about.... http://www.bobparsons.com/MayKiting.html -Robert I'm hoping someone out there might know how this process works. I have been trying to get woodphotography . com for a while.  I was happy to see the current owner (who never used it and refused to sell it for 6 years) was letting it expire last month.  I back-ordered it thru go daddy, but I didn't get it.  Now it is just a page full of ads and isn't even used by a real photography company.  That sucks!   I have seen things online, where a company would file a dispute with icann or something if they wanted and had business interest in a domain that was owned by another party who was just using it to redirect traffic.   How does that work?  It isn't the biggest deal in the world, so I'm not gonna' pay any big bucks to try and get it, but I don't really know what my options/chances are. Thanks! ~Brad

Brad, IANAL, but I think they look for things like:   Business (corp or llc) named the same as the url.   Filed Trademarks (logos, etc) incorporating the name   Copyright filings on the name.   Business longevity with the name. but it isn't all that common to win. ----- Excess quoted text cut - see Original Post for more -----

I brought this up in a Google search; It costs $1500 USD up front to file a dispute a domain, though...  That sucks. http://www.icann.org/udrp/#udrp What types of disputes are covered by the Administrative Procedure? According to Paragraph 4(a) of the UDRP Policy, the UDRP Administrative Procedure is only available for disputes concerning an alleged abusive registration of a domain name; that is, which meet the following criteria: (i) the domain name registered by the domain name registrant is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which the complainant (the person or entity bringing the complaint) has rights; and (ii) the domain name registrant has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name in question; and (iii) the domain name has been registered and is being used in bad faith What circumstances are evidence that a domain name has been registered and is being used in bad faith? Paragraph 4(b) of the UDRP Policy sets out the following examples of circumstances that will be considered by an Administrative Panel to be evidence of the bad faith registration and use of a domain name: (i) Circumstances indicating that the domain name was registered or acquired primarily for the purpose of selling, renting, or otherwise transferring the domain name registration to the complainant who is the owner of the trademark or service mark or to a competitor of that complainant, for valuable consideration in excess of the domain name registrant's out-of-pocket costs directly related to the domain name; or (ii) The domain name was registered in order to prevent the owner of the trademark or service mark from reflecting the mark in a corresponding domain name, provided that the domain name registrant has engaged in a pattern of such conduct; or (iii) The domain name was registered primarily for the purpose of disrupting the business of a competitor; or (iv) By using the domain name, the domain name registrant intentionally attempted to attract for financial gain, Internet users to the registrant's web site or other on-line location, by creating a likelihood of confusion with the complainant's mark as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation, or endorsement of the registrant's web site or location or of a product or service on the registrant's web site or location. The above examples are not exclusive and other circumstances may exist that demonstrate the registration and use of a domain name in bad faith.