An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
This may be a cliché, but it's still true.
Listed here are several things you can do to help prevent a negative outcome of a
UDRP suit. They may not make your domain name bulletproof, but they will be of tremendous
aid in defending it.
Check the trademark database of the appropriate jurisdiction
for any infringement
For .com, .org and .net top-level domains, the appropriate
jurisdiction is the United States Patent and Trademark Office. If there is a current, live trademark that conflicts with
your domain name, you'll need to execute a large number of careful plans to ensure
that you can keep the domain name. You should contact an Intellectual Property Attorney.
You may want to consider using a different domain name. If there isn't a conflicting
trademark, get a notary public to sign and date that they witnessed you do the search
and that there was no conflict. At least print a screen shot and mail it to yourself.
Create a Web Site for the domain name.
This seems pretty self explanatory, but a large
number of domains have been lost because there wasn't a web site attached to the
domain name. The UDRP is blind to any valid use of a domain name other than
as a web site. This is a key failing of the UDRP that is routinely exploited by Complainants.
An "Under Construction" graphic does not constitute valid use--especially
when it's on the top-level page. A "future site of a great new business"
is much better. A fully formed site is better still. Make sure a fairly large number
of pages prominently feature the actual domain name. Once you have a site up, go
to www.archive.org's wayback machine and request that they take a snapshot of the
site.
Get a trademark registration for your domain name.
Successfully registering a trademark of your domain
name gives you rights to that domain name at least equal to those of any possible
Complainant. In general no UDRP case has ever been successfully brought up against
a domain name owner who has a valid registration of the domain name. In the United
States you can register your own trademark for less than $400 at U.S. Patents and Trademark Office (Read more about how to do this at Nolo press)
Keep your contact information current at the Registrar.
If the Complaint never reaches you, you cannot respond
to it. The Response then can be assumed to be "default." If a hacker forges
a request to the Registrar to modify your contact information, then files a UDRP
complaint, they will almost certainly win your domain name without you even being
aware of the proceedings.
Pay your registration fees in advance of their due date.
Don't rely on the Registrar to send you a notice
to pay your fees; they are often not required to do so. Just as above, a Hacker may
have changed your contact information so the bill will never get to you. Pay the
fee well in advance of it's due date. Many domain names have been lost because a
check wasn't cashed on time or bounced. Give yourself enough time to work out any
eventualities.
Develop a business plan or letter of intent that involves
your domain name.
In the business plan, describe your intended use
of the domain name. Link the domain name solidly to a valid business proposal. Circulate
the business plan with potential investors. If this is a noncommercial use of the
domain name, create an intent document and circulate it amongst your friends or get
it signed and dated by a notary Put this document somewhere on that domain name's
web site.
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