I thought that might be a good idea and started typing in names at a registrar. I was surprised to find the name of someone I thought was up and coming was available. I registered it.
A couple of years later, this person did become well known. Everyone on this board, at least those in the U.S., would know the person. And the person did start a site using the exact same domain name I had registered except the spelling was slightly different.
I had mistakenly registered a misspelling of the name. It's a common misspelling.
Anyway, I didn't do anything with the domain for years. For a while, I put up a landing page directing visitors to the correct domain. Now, it's just parked at my registrar and I assume the registrar is making a few bucks off displaying PPC ads on the parked page.
I have, over the years, received a few inquiries from people who said they were interested, but I have always declined. I assumed, perhaps correctly and perhaps not, the people interested in the name were going to put up some type of deragatory site about the person.
Now I'm thinking about selling it.
Should I approach the "celebrity" by email and see if they are interested?
Should I list it on one of the domain auction sites?
Should I put my own "For Sale" page at the domain?
Seeking suggestions.
FarmBoy
IMO, most domainers would probably advise not to bother approaching the person whose name your domain refers to in order to sell him/her "your" name. That person's lawyers could quickly become involved and attempt to get the domain off you for free, accusing you of tradename infringement (yes, even though your domain contains an extra word or two; it still contains the famous person's name). While those lawyers may or may not actually take you to court (or file a UDRP with ICANN), it's a possibility, and you just bring about that possibility of legal troubles if you take this route.
A better idea to get rid of the potentially problematic name would be offer it for sale to a domain investor who might not be as concerned abou trademark infringement.
In any event, you for sure want to park the name in the interim with a company that pays you for the clicks instead of letting the current parker take your revenue. Even if it's not a lot of money, why should someone else besides you reap that reward?
It's an interesting education.
I've never done the celebrity name thing. If I did it would likely only be if I was a real big fan of someone. I'm a real big fan of my kids so I registered their names. That's about it.
You may be able to hold onto a celeb name if you create a fan site and don't make money off the celeb's status. Note I didn't say profit. I said make any money.
What boggles my mind in this space is the supposed fans that do make money and when approached about a turn over start thinking it's going to be their big pay day. Consider that domain "Gone in 60 Seconds."
IMO, most domainers would probably advise not to bother approaching the person whose name your domain refers to in order to sell him/her "your" name. That person's lawyers could quickly become involved and attempt to get the domain off you for free, accusing you of tradename infringement (yes, even though your domain contains an extra word or two; it still contains the famous person's name).
I understand your point, but just to be clear, my domain doesn't contain the famous person's exact name, it contains a common misspelling of the famous person's name.
If that matters.
A better idea to get rid of the potentially problematic name would be offer it for sale to a domain investor who might not be as concerned abou trademark infringement.
Any suggestions on how to locate such investors? Is it a bad idea to list it for sale on one or more of the domain selling sites or should I locate some of these investors somehow and approach them privately?
FarmBoy
You may be able to hold onto a celeb name if you create a fan site and don't make money off the celeb's status. Note I didn't say profit. I said make any money.
I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "hold on" to the domain. I've already had it for several years.
Also, technically speaking, money is already being made off the name, just not by me - the registrar has it parked with PPC ads on the page.
Thanks,
FarmBoy
What you have described would be deemed as typosquatting. If you tried to sell it to the celebrity, or offered it in an online auction, or even put a "for sale" sign on the page, they would use that to establish bad faith. It would be an easy win for the celebrity.
The value of the doamin name is no more than $1500. That's based on what it would cost the celebrity to get a decision by WIPO ($1500) or the National Arbitration Forum ($1300). Even then, most people would rather get a judgement against a typosquatter rather than pay them for the name. I really don't think you could get anywhere near $1500 for it.
Chances are, your celebrity already knows about the name, but isn't doing anything because it's just sitting there. To get their attention, you would have to do something obnoxios, like slander them on the page. Just for fun, do a Google search for "doc seagle". He's the guy who changed his name to Oxford University to try to keep that institution from taking a domain name from him. The guy is a riot, but he was also a thorn in the side of many businesses. He got hammered by Westpac Bank. They sued the cr#p out of him.
Your best option to make money from the domain is to put up a fan site there, and add affiliate ads of your own. That would actually be an improvement over what the registrar has there.
You might find the following related links interesting:
National Arbitration Forum:
[domains.adrforum.com...]
(Search for "celebrity")
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
[wipo.int...]
