Thread: Has anyone ever disputed someone else's registration?

Quick recap (my first thread is below). Since 2000, I've the webmaster of a pretty well-known author with an unusual name. Her domain is her name. We discovered after a few years that the host we had been using switched ownership of the domain from me to them (though I had moved the site to a different server). Then they went out of business. So emails to the 'owner' of the domain went nowhere.

Fine, you can still renew a domain through Joker even if you aren't the owner, so I kept kicking the can down the road. But this year, I needed to move the site to a new host. Can't do that without ownership. So I let the domain expire and watched it like a hawk to grab it and...missed. Somebody registered it to a Finnish address.

Yeah, I know. I really suck at this.

The new owner isn't answering emails. The registrar (Mighty Bay, Inc.) isn't either. I put in a support ticket and they quietly marked it resolved without getting in touch.

So. Well-known author. Unusual name. Owned the domain for over a decade. We have a strong case to dispute the domain, don't we?

What next? Do I go to the registrar or ICANN or what?

If someone registered the domain, you are pretty much out of luck unless they sell it to you.
This is why I always recommend using registrars and hosts who are reputable. My provider would never leave me in the dust like that which is why I stayed with them for over 2 years.

ICANN does have a dispute procedure in place for cases like this (famous person's name). I'm slowly wending my way through it now...

Huh. Yep. I'm screwed.

The National Arbitration Forum is a neutral dispute resolution service provider and as such, we cannot give legal advice or comment on whether or not you have a case. However, we do encourage you to visit our website for information regarding the domain name dispute resolution process and if, after reviewing the policy, rules and supplemental rules, you feel the situation can be resolved using this process, you may certainly file a complaint with us.

Kindly note that the filing fee for a UDRP complaint involving 1 to 2 domain names is $1,300 for a single-member panel and $2,600 for a three-member panel.

Yeah it gets expensive, I have a neighbor who is a musician and his domain name was stolen and he cant afford the dispute fees!

Most of the time these disputes never go through and never go anywhere.
Of course copyrighted and trademark names are disputable but it is a big legal battle if both sides have the cash.

I suppose that each case is unique and you need to understand that. In some cases you will need to hire lawyer.
That is really serious subject.

Yea its pretty much a lost case unless you get really lucky. Sorry to hear the news and I say keep trying.

Doesn't matter now. Client fired my incompetent butt