Heavy-duty case closed: Peli tried to steal peli.co.uk from rightful owner, says Nominet

Peli, makers of heavy plastic boxes, has been labelled a reverse domain name hijacker by Nominet after wrongly claiming ownership of a disputed website name. The company was accused by Nominet dispute resolution expert Nial Vivian of an "overt attempt to deceive" him in its failed bid to use the UK domain name registry's …

[Why Not?]

Seems odd

If you have developed a trading name and wish to purchase a domain that matches another trader with a similar name it then you would expect them to defer to the first registrant.

So if PELI lipstick had registered peli.co.uk then PELI cases would have to approach Peli lipstick and offer them money to part with it.

However if a registrant who has no stake in the mark and the domain has no value on its own without the marketing and they hold it to ransom you would expect Nominet to rule in Peli's favour or cap the amount it could be sold for. A £1000 limit would stop the law suits.

Generic names such as BOSS should obviously be a free for all.

[el kabong]

Not odd at all

Don't lie to the arbitrator, she might not like that and then rule against you.

[cipnt]

Re: Not odd at all

Exactly! The complainant might actually have had a chance at winning this if it didn't made false statements

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Seems odd

@Why Not?

While all your words are sound, I think you read too deep into the fish bowl because you missed...

"... the disputed domain had been owned by other firms for at least six years... "

This is why that even if you're attempting corruption, you still don't let dumb people control your lawyers, as any registrar/whois lookup would lead you to choose a different approach of corruption. However, too bad they didn't win, as I would of like to use this reverse-reverse-hijacking method on Google.com. Anyways, if you're bored, read about Nissan.com VS. Nissan Motors sometime.

"* Domainer – a person or business that trades in domain names"

Since when did it stop being called squatting? I have 2 squatters on me right now looking for 10K per... fucking squatters. Imagine if you couldn't have 1234 Apple Street as your house/business address because 1234 Apple Street was owned by someone selling the address... literally just the name.

[khjohansen]

Re: Re: Seems odd

"... the disputed domain had been owned by other firms for at least six years... "

.. were these other firms also domainers(*)

(*) a few, less polite, names come to mind

[doublelayer]

Re: Seems odd

On the surface, that makes sense. I don't like the people who try to sell domain names either. I don't know if anyone likes them apart from registrars. However, I can't really say the process is unfair in any way. If someone gets a site because they saw me get a trademark, that's a legitimate complaint. If they just got it because it was an attractive domain they figured someone would want eventually, can I fault them? It's a lot like buying land in an area where you think someone will want to develop so you can sell it to them later; I'm sure the developer isn't happy with your arbitrage, but is there something wrong with it?

Of course, in this case, the whole point is moot because they lied about how the domain was transferred. Maybe they would have succeeded had they tried a different argument, but their tactics imply that they didn't have a good enough case anyway which led to their decision to lie about the evidence.

[Blackjack]

Re: Seems odd

What seems really wrong is that's is a "uk" domain name and no one really wants those.

[Jimmy2Cows]

Reading comprehension fail

.co.uk != .uk

Yeah nobody wants the .uk Nominet is trying to seruptitiously foist onto all and sundry, but that's not the same as this.

[johnfbw]

Domain Camping

I thought domain camping was pretty much outlawed

They are outright advertising it - using this article!

http://peli.co.uk/

[cipnt]

Re: Domain Camping

Nominet explicitly states in its DRS policy that "trading in domain names for profit, and holding a large portfolio of domain names, are of themselves lawful activities."

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Domain Camping

Of course, that's how Nominet makes money (and any other registrar)

[johnfbw]

Re: Domain Camping

What do they say about deliberate trading in other people's trademarks?

[Doctor Syntax]

peli.co.uk is now quoting el Reg's headline.

[Anonymous Coward]

I'd like to thank the author...

I'd like to thank the author for not calling it an open and shut case... as now I can.

[Warm Braw]

Re: I'd like to thank the author...

It's more of an (alleged) case of mis-taken identity.

[Robert Sneddon]

Re: I'd like to thank the author...

But is it an airtight case?

[Anonymous Coward]

speaking from personal experience

Always make sure the numpty's who are making up your new company name check to see if its available in your .TLD of choice before announcing it to the world...and then having to buy said domain from a company in a different industry, legitimately trading under your new chosen (and expensively marketed) domain name...

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: speaking from personal experience

Also don't assume that because you can get the domain name, your competitor hasn't trademarked the name.

[John Brown (no body)]

Re: speaking from personal experience

And be careful where and how you check for availability. There are places where showing an interest in a domain name seems to trigger and automatic purchase, it then suddenly becoming unavailable except the entity who just registered it suddenly having it for sale at a much higher price.

[Anonymous Coward]

Domainer

Didn't you mean domaineer?

[Jimmy2Cows]

Re: Domainer

I prefer "parasitic bastard".

[Anonymous Coward]

"Nominet's DRS is part and parcel of the terms and conditions for owning a UK domain name."

I am highly dubious of the chances of that clause holding up in court, especially (but not just) as it concerns a ccTLD.

[gazthejourno]

Re: "Nominet's DRS is part and parcel of the terms and conditions for owning a UK domain name."

You might enjoy this 2012 High Court case, then.