----- Original Message ----- From: "Gerhard Fiedler" To: Sent: Sunday, December 11, 2005 9:17 AM Subject: Re: [OT] What's a commerical domain name worth? > Bob Ammerman wrote: > >> I am not a lawyer, but I always thought the issue of selling domain names >> came in several flavors: > > IANL, but the link given earlier in this thread says that attempting to > sell or even considering to sell a domain name can be constructed to mean > that the domain owner is a cybersquatter, and that this means a good > lawyer > may be able to get this domain for free, independently of anything else. > > Apparently the selling of domain names does not have a clear legal basis. > Or if it has one, it says that it's not legal, and when a sale happens it > only happens because none of the involved parties goes to court. > > If that is correct, the common flavor of domain sales seems to be that all > involved parties restrain from going to court over it. But that may be > difficult to guarantee up front. > > Gerhard As mentioned in my previous post: I do believe that the legality of selling a domain name depends on circumstances. I do know that offering to sell a name with registered or even non-registered 'trademark' status can be taken as prima facie evidence of the intent to 'cybersquat'. On the other hand, I am nearly certain that the sale of a domain by one business to another is perfectly legitimate. For example: say that Joe has a pizza parlor called Joe's Pizza in Buffalo, NY and uses the domain name TheBestPizzaInBuffalo.com, which is _not_ considered a trademark by Joe or anybody else. Now Sam also has his own restaurant, Sam's Pizza and he wants to get on the net. I am pretty sure that he can offer to buy "TheBestPizzaInBuffalo.com" domain name from Joe and/or Joe can offer to sell it to him without anti-cybersquatting laws getting in the way. But again, IANAL. Bob Ammerman RAm Systems -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist