One of the more unusual aspects of my job as General Manager of a large portfolio of premium domain names is that I see all the "poison pen" letters from lawyers representing clients who believe (usually incorrectly, I should add) they are legally entitled to a domain name that we own. Since we own over 100,000 domain names, we get quite a few of these letters every week!
I make sure that we respond to each and every one of these inquiries, and now that I've seen and dealt with hundreds of these letters I wanted to make a suggestion to the marketing community at large:
"You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar."
Admittedly, I didn't come up with this age-old concept, but I'd like to remind people that you will have better luck resolving a dispute - any dispute - by playing nice than by being hostile.
For instance, the next time you think that someone owns a domain name that you think you are legally entitled to, don't make your first move a "nasty lawyer's letter."
Instead, just reach out to the current owner with a courteous phone call or email (which you can get from checking the public WHOIS records) and let them know you have some questions or concerns. You might discover that the current owner is a lot nicer than you think, is not a hardened criminal, and is more than willing to negotiate in good faith. You might even learn that the original basis for your complaint is flawed and that - surprise, surprise - you aren't legally entitled to the domain name after all.
Not only will you save yourself the time, hassle, and significant expense of going the legal route (fighting a domain name dispute can cost many thousands of dollars), but you will begin the dialogue on a positive and constructive basis, not an adversarial one.
I go out of my way to help the small minority of folks who approach me nicely and are willing to listen to and consider our side of the story. Between us, we can usually resolve the situation within a few days. Unfortunately, I can count these "honey" folks on the fingers of one hand.
I'm not so sympathetic towards the "vinegar" folks - those who courier me six-inch thick stacks of legal documents that make all sorts of false accusations, ridiculous demands, and set unrealistic timelines for a response. (One law firm did this to me, quite deliberately, on Christmas Eve, two years in a row.) Sadly, these "poison pen" letters make up the vast majority of inquiries I receive. Sure, we respond to them as well, but I'm not going to cut them any slack or do them any favours. Why should I?
In the end, this boils down to one simple suggestion: be nice. ;+)
(A version of this post originally appeared on the Canadian Marketing Blog.)
Domain name expert Bill Sweetman is the President & Lead Ninja of Name Ninja, a boutique domain name consulting firm that helps companies acquire, manage, protect, and profit from their domain names. Bill has provided strategic domain name advice to major companies around the world for over 20 years.
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Great post. An age old and simple truth that we need more people to follow.
Posted by: Jack Zufelt | May 25, 2009 at 11:42 AM
I can imagine that some of these "poison pen" letters are worth a good chuckle, though. Some of my favorite letters/emails have come from folks who were quite adamant about their positions, despite the fact that they had no idea what they were talking about.
Some days, though, the amusement factor doesn't make these letters much easier to deal with.
Great post with some sage advice.
Posted by: Traffic Geyser | June 13, 2009 at 09:07 PM
I agree - being nice is always a good policy. This is especially true on or when dealing with the internet. People have no idea that their actions online last a long time.
Posted by: Tom Troughton | June 14, 2009 at 05:31 PM
Wow, I never knew that there are managers for premium domains. What a job that is.
Really learned much from this blog post. To be courteous is definitely key.
Thanks for the advice Bill.
Posted by: E.Hong | June 19, 2009 at 07:06 PM
Hello,
I think you raise alot of very valid points. While some domain disputes are valid from the point of the plaintiff, the fact is that the situation is not "cut and dry".
For example, if you registered the domain name prior to the other party trademarking the name, they cannot confiscate it. A case in point - Apple paid someone $2 million USD for the "iphone.com" domain for this exact reason.
As another example, you might be using the domain for a web site that is completely unrelated to the plaintiff's business. Even if the plaintiff has a trademark for a similar though not identical name, it might not be considered "confusingly similar" under the terms of the domain law due to the difference in business sector.
A major thing you have to watch out for now though is registering someone's name (e.g., "DaveLetterman.com). Under the Clinton era Lanham act the individual whose name is in the domain can challenge ownership, even he/she did not trademark his/her name. There may be exceptions, such as where you are not simply parking the domain for resale, but have an informational site about the person in question (although I am not certain about this point).
You are definitely correct that the 800 pound gorilla approach is rediculous. You can actually quickly and inexpensively arbitrate these cases via the internet under the supervision of a magistrate. This saves both parties alot of time and money. Will Smith got his own name back (willsmith.com) from someone in Canada named Barney Rubble! I guess he expecetd a challenge...
Posted by: Stewart Engelman - Domain Sales | July 17, 2009 at 02:41 PM
Thanks for the post you stopped me from making the lawyer letter mistake. I'll make the phone call and see what happens
Posted by: Tevye Brown | June 25, 2010 at 07:57 AM