The Saveme.com Response. Short, Sweet, Masterful!

Morning Folks!!


On Tuesday I published our response that we submitted to WIPO and our 'Friends' in Brazil. Today I am making that link public. Interestingly enough, just this morning I heard of another domain win with the complaintant also being from Brazil when Mike Berkens sent me this link. I think we need to be alert to see if we hear of more of these cases coming from Brazil or any specific country for that matter.


Here is the link to our response for all to see. Howard did a masterful job of why these people should be found guilty of Reverse Domain Hijacking and we await a favorable decision that hopefully will call this as we have described.


http://www.erealestate.com/saveme.htm


I will have a LOT to say after the decision whichever way it goes. The decision is just the beginning of the Saveme.com episode and what is to come. I have a mission!


And while a ruling on Reverse Domain Hijacking is rare, Howard and I have never found a single ruling with more elements present in one single case. Usually there is one element of 'Bad Faith' in such a ruling. Here we have several.


You can be sure when the ruling comes down, you will be the first to know!


Rick Schwartz


RicksBlog.com 5 Years Old TODAY!!

Morning Folks!


Wow, I just noticed that exactly 5 years ago today Ricksblog.com had a 'Grand Opening'.


To be honest, it was something I really did not want to do at first because I had been blogging before there were blogs for over 10 years at that time in 2007. But I did want to get my thoughts out there for more to see and have it circulate so decided to try and memorialize 10 years of thoughts on this blog. I am pretty satisfied with it and every once in a while I got the opportunity to link back to some of those original posts complete with timestamps.


'On the record for the record.' That is my slogan. My blog is part personal diary just like my old board was my 'Living Room' to me.


So I accomplished another mission and feel good about whatever is here. The good, bad and ugly. But it is all 'On the record for the record.'


Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz


Don’t Wander off the Yellow Brick Road of Progress. First Things First.

Morning Folks!!


In every project the FIRST thing you should do is to identify the 'Time Sensitive' elements of that project. What takes the most time? What needs to get rolling now and what can wait until you get your other ducks in a row. If you get this one wrong, you lose! You will be unprepared and work much harder with a lot more pressure and you will always be running against the clock. All that if you don't identify the 'Time Sensitive' things first.


With the Internet, Domain Names were the single thing I had identified as the FIRST thing I had to do. Until that was accomplished, there was really no need to go further. That was my first thing and today we see what happens when it is the 'Last thing'.

That was the first phase of a business plan that so many have dismissed but has proven to be key to everything on the Internet. That phase for me lasted 10 years. 10 years where there was a sense of urgency. I realized the urgency would subside but the learning process had to begin. That would be my second phase and that phase would last another 10 years.

20 year germination period as I would refer to it. Lots of trial and error and learning from other people's mistakes. That would bring me 20 years down the road and at that time folks could get their head around what I had done. 20 years before I would start to build an empire. But that did not mean I did not build dozens of sites along the way. My thoughts are all on record and time stamped and I have hundreds if not thousands of witnesses. I endured the laughs and barbs and everything else to maintain what I believed and I was never deterred in my efforts.. Now as we approach 20 years folks are seeing now what I saw then. What I saw and risked millions on.



My curse in life is following the Yellow Brick Road wherever it leads regardless of my agenda. Most people try to bend reality to match their road, what they want and their overall agenda. I do the opposite. I know what I want, but I am willing not to bend reality to fit it. Instead I know the Yellow Brick Road will bring me where I want to go without fighting the reality of life.

And when I get there, I may be first and that means I have to wait for others to catch up. Since I already know their final destination I have 2 choices. I can go run around and follow all those folks or I can set up an umbrella at the beach and wait for them to arrive. I chose the latter.



I guess if you were White Water Rafting you could make an attempt to be in control but the reality is you would be fooling yourself because the Rapids are in control, not you. So maybe instead of fighting it, just lay back and enjoy the ride. It is going to the same place regardless of your outlook, what you want and your agenda. The water is so much stronger and sometimes the smartest thing is to just recognize that and be submissive to it.



On the other side of the coin you have to be able to recognize and learn when you do have control. When you can make a difference. When the Rapids turn into a Magic Carpet.


Here is a copy of my Circa 1999 eRealEstate.com Site. Notice the theme. In 2 places I go out of my way to say we DON'T sell our domains. I do to this day. It is not what I am about. But when somebody comes along with an offer that is bigger than my idea, then I will listen.
I even had a logo page from that time. The Saveme.com logo is not on it. But I have one of a man carrying a cross. These logo's were done in 1997-1999 by a guy named 'Ken' in New Mexico. Maybe not the most sophisticated logos but this was 15 years ago.



This all means just go with the flow when you can't change things and be proactive when you can. The single biggest challenge is knowing the difference. Maybe you never thought about it this way, but now you have. Be positive and learn from everything you do. Always remember 'Ignorance is a choice'.



Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz
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Online Property Rights Threatened As Government Body Agrees To Hear Saveme.com Complaint

Morning Folks!!


This Press Release will be coming out on Monday Morning. Here is a sneak peak to start the circulation a bit early. My thanks to Danny Pryor and Howard Neu for helping to compose this. If you would like to possibly be quoted in this release, please use your full name for verification.


Rick Schwartz


BOCA RATON, Fla., April 9, 2012 - - eRealEstate.com Claims Online Property Rights Threatened As Government Body Agrees To Hear Saveme.com Complaint


Are United States citizens and companies that use the famous dot-com extension, as most U.S.-based companies do, now a target of foreign companies that want your valuable domain or your business? That question, according to Rick Schwartz of eRealEstate.com of Boca Raton, Florida who owns Saveme.com, sets the tone of a pending cyberwar at the World Intellectual Property Organization. Other online investors such as Paul J. Kapchuck, agree that the stakes are high as a showdown looms.


A pair of Brazilian companies (Online Services, Ltd. and E-Commerce Media Group Information and Technology, Ltd.) owns the domain saveme.com.br (the .com.br extension is reserved specifically for Brazil) that they registered in 2010 and started using in 2011. On March 13th, these companies filed a complaint with World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), against Schwartz. Schwartz asserts that the pair is hoping to grab the very valuable dotcom version of that domain. SaveMe.com was registered by Schwartz in 1996 and SaveMe.com.br wasn't registered until 2010.


Both Schwartz and Website Developer Danny Pryor, as well as established trademark attorney Howard Neu, agree the present case is an effort to use Internet administrative procedure to seize a generic domain name that was registered 15 years before the Brazilian companies were ever in business. The Brazilian companies even noted in their complaint that they had not even secured a trademark, blaming the Brazilian Government for dragging its feet. The companies state, in their complaint, no trademark can be granted because of 'Brazil Trademark Office's enormous backlog in analyzing trademark applications.'


While WIPO rejected the original complaint last month, citing “deficient” arguments, an updated version of the complaint was re-filed on March 24, after WIPO sent the case back to the filers for modifications. Among the deficiencies observed by WIPO, the most notable was that the original complaint had not fully explained how bad faith allegations applied in this case.


WIPO comments to the complaining parties is viewed as a slant in favor of the complainant, by at least one attorney's account. Paul Keating, a world-renowned Internet Attorney, specifically observed on this guest blog post that WIPO provided the complainant in the saveme.com UDRP case, 'a second bite at the apple, because they are being advised to review and correct substantive issues pertaining to their burden of proof.'


WIPO, on the other hand, will not provide Mr. Schwartz with a second bite of the apple if he fails in his efforts to defend his domain of 16 years, Neu observed, calling the arbitration setting an uneven playing field. 'Schwartz will be forced to file a new action in U.S. Federal Court for relief,' Neu said. Howard Neu represents Schwartz in the WIPO case and has been his attorney since 1999.


'This is a perfect example of 'Reverse Domain Hijacking',' Schwartz said, 'A party, with no rights whatsoever, tries to bully folks into giving up their domain name, and the domain name owner in many cases can’t afford to defend his property. That defense often costs many thousands of dollars. The Brazilian Complainants must show that in 1996, I registered the name in 'Bad Faith' and somehow knew a company half a world away would use that name 16 years later.'


Schwartz added, 'We are determined to let folks who may own valuable dot-com real estate know what is to come, as a bad decision here could have a huge impact on online business. In fact, it could make U.S. businesses much more vulnerable, because we rely on dot-com for our online presence and commerce, as opposed to other extensions or country codes.'


The Brazilian companies have asked WIPO for a three-member arbitration panel, composed entirely of Brazilian nationals. There is no date currently set for the arbitration hearing.


About eRealestate.com: eRealEstate.com has been buying and developing electronic real estate since 1995. eRealEstate.com is the net's first site devoted to domains and their development.


Press Contact Howard Neu howard@neulaw.com 954-662-1816