The Rick Schwartz Domain Name and Traffic Blog: RicksBlog.com – Home of The Domain King®

Afternoon Folks!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

This year one of the things I am most thankful for is my SaveMe.com WIPO challenge and win. As many of you know I am keeping a running list of all those found GUILTY of 'Reverse Domain Name Hijacking'. (RDNH) in hopes it will make future hijackers think twice. I am using these cases to help inoculate us from these menacing lawsuits and predators by shining the light of day on them. Let the court of public opinion weigh in and become a factor since prison time and/or fines are not the law as of yet.

I have 23 such cases so far and each win will discourage the next would-be hijacker. A tip of the hat to all owners below that fought and a big congrats to the attorney that represented them! I will list any and all cases as I learn of them.

SaveMe.com The Grand daddy of RDNH. Here is my post on this very big win against Márcio Mello Chaves, aka Márcio Chaves aka Marcio Chaves

The Complainant is G.W.H.C. - Serviços Online Ltda., E-Commerce Media Group Informação e Tecnologia Ltda. of Sao Paulo, Brazil, represented by Almeida Advogados, Brazil. Found guilty of Reverse Domain Name Hijacking

Case #1 is our Friend Scott Day of Digimedia who won a $100k+ judgment against GOFORIT ENTERTAINMENT, LLC who IS a REVERSE DOMAIN NAME HIJACKER.

Case #2 Rain.com Media Rain LLC engaged in Reverse Domain Hijacking

Case #3 CinemaCity.com The Complainant is Prime Pictures LLC of Dubai, United Arab Emirates (“UAE”), represented by Law offices of Vince Ravine, PC, United States of America (“USA”). Reverse Domain Name Hijacker

Case #4 CollectiveMedia.com The Complainant is Collective Media, Inc., New York, United States of America, represented by Lowenstein Sandler PC, United States of America is a Reverse Domain Name Hijacker

Case #5 Elk.com The Complainant is ELK Accesories Pty Ltd. of Preston, Australia represented by Pointon Partners, Australia is a Reverse Domain Name Hijacker

Case #6 ForSale.ca Globe Media International Corporation is a Reverse Domain Name Hijacker

Case #7 Mess.com Kiwi Shoe Polish Company, The Complainant is Mess Enterprises, San Francisco, California, of United States of America, represented by Steve Clinton, United States of America is a Reverse Domain Name Hijacker

Case #8 Goldline.com The Complainant is Goldline International, Inc., represented by Spataro & Associates is a Reverse Domain Name Hijacker

Case #9 K2R.com The complainant is a Swiss company, K2r Produkte AG of Haggenstrasse 45, CH 9014 St. Gallen, Switzerland is a Reverse Domain Name Hijacker

Case #10 CarSales.com The Complainant is carsales.com.au Limited of Burwood, Victoria, Australia represented by Corrs Chambers, Westgarth, Australia is a Reverse Domain Name Hijacker

Case #11 Proto.com The Complainant is Proto Software, Inc., New York, New York, United States of America, represented by Byron Binkley, United States of America is a Reverse Domain Name Hijacker

Case #12 TrailBlazer.com Trailblazer Learning, Inc. represented by Brett W, Caledonia, Michigan is a Reverse Domain Name Hijacker

Case #13 DreamGirls.com The Complainant is Dreamgirls, Inc., Tampa, Florida, United States of America, represented by Christensen, Miller, Fink, Jacobs, Glaser, Weil & Shapiro, LLP, Los Angeles, California, United States of America and have been labeled a 'Reverse Domain Name Hijacker'.

Case #14 Mexico.com The Complainant is Consejo de Promoción Turística de México, S.A. de C.V., Colonia Anzures, Mexico, represented by Bello, Guzmán, Morales Y Tsuru, S.C., Mexico is a Reverse Domain Name Hijacker

Case #15 Windsor.com Complainant in this administrative proceeding is Windsor Fashions, Inc., a California corporation with a principal place of business in Los Angeles, California, United States of America. Complainant is represented in this proceeding by Abraham M. Rudy, Esq. and Julie Waldman, Esq., Weisman, Wolff, Bergman, Coleman, Grodin & Evall LLP, Beverly Hills, California, United States of America. They have been labeled a 'Reverse Domain Name Hijacker'.

Case #16 Mindo.com Complainants are Scandinavian Leadership AB and Mindo AB of Uppsala, Sweden, internally represented. They have been labeled a 'Reverse Domain Name Hijacker'.

Case # 17 and Sha.com he Complainant is Albir Hills Resort, S.A. of Alfaz del Pi Alicante, Spain, represented by PADIMA, Abogados y Agentes de Propiedad Industrial, S.L., Spain. They have been labeled a 'Reverse Domain Name Hijacker'.

Case # 18 etatil.com The Complainants are ÖZALTUN OTELCİLİK TURİZM VE TİCARET LTD. ŞTİ. of Istanbul, Turkey, Allstar Hotels LLC of New York, Unites States of America and Mr. Metin ALTUN of Istanbul, Turkey, represented by Istanbul Patent & Trademark Consultancy Ltd., Turkey. They have been labeled a 'Reverse Domain Name Hijacker'.

Case # 19 Takeout.com. Complainant is Tarheel Take-Out, LLC of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America (“U.S.”), represented internally. They have been labeled a 'Reverse Domain Name Hijacker'.

Case # 20 WallStreet.com The Complainant is Wall-Street.com, LLC of Florida, United States of America (the “United States” or “US”), represented by Flint IP Law, United States. They have been labeled a 'Reverse Domain Name Hijacker'.

Case # 21 parvi.org found for the complainant in 2009 but in 2012 the courts rules that the City of Paris, France was guilty of 'Reverse Domain Name Hijacking' in a landmark case that resulted in a $125,000 judgement against the city.

Case #22 Gtms.com The Complainant is Sustainable Forestry Management Limited, a company incorporated under the laws of Bermuda, with its principal place of business in London, United Kingdom. The Complainant is represented by its general counsel, Mr. Eric Bettelheim. They have been labeled a 'Reverse Domain Name Hijacker'.

Case #23 Pet Express The Complaintant is Airpet Animal Transport, Inc. They have been labeled a 'Reverse Domain Name Hijacker' (further info to follow)

Happy Thanksgiving to those found guilty of Reverse Domain Name Hijackers!! Who is going to be NEXT on the list?

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

Let me take a paragraph or two to PROVE the leasing model works, works well and has worked on the net for over 15 years and off the net for maybe 1500 years. It comes down to simple math so let me give you a simple real world example.

A domain was sent to me for consideration. The party wanted to know if their domain had a leasing potential. Problem he thought was that it only had 20 visitors a day. First of all, 20 visitors a day has value. Whether it has GREAT value depends on the research I do. I found out that this exact match domain name had multiple people advertising and one guy was upfront and was asking for $2000 for the service.

So let's say this guy charges $2000 for his service and let's say since it is a service he puts in $500 worth of time. Leaving him $1500 profit. Now ask yourself a question. From those 20 daily type ins how many would he have to close and make customers for the domain to pay for itself? Let's say that domain leases for $2500/month. Then back to the question and why many don't see the forest thru the trees. So the answer of course is 2. Let's say he gets one new customer each week from the leased domain. He just put $8k in his pocket with a gross profit of $5500.

What if he grows the traffic to 200 a day? What if he closes twice as many? And don't forget to add the money he just saved sending to Google. That was a chunk of change. Plus these are now clients that can come back for repeat business. What's to reject here? It's math! All the while the lessee is making more money and eventually may be able to afford to buy the domain name. Plus as you do business together over time you come to know each other and a dea becomes easier not harder. It's math!

This is just one example and if the owner gives me permission, I will list the domain. I will transform that domain from making pennies on PPC to thousands with my method. Because I see domains differently than most. I see it with the lens of 'Sales' and nothing more. Since few see sales like I do, I can only attract those that understand what I see and say and have demonstrated over the years.

A reader (thanks Jon!) sent me this list he complied yesterday with the key elements I am looking for and therefore he is looking for and it says it all. It is what the 'Yellow Pages' test means to me. It is the essence of domaining for ME. It is why I can assign a value on a domain that everyone would laugh at but that value comes from the list below and how strong the domain does in each category.

1. Must be a dot com.
2. Must clearly state & define the product or service being sold.
3. Must be easy to pronounce & therefore pass the radio test.
4. Must not be longer than necessary, the shorter the better.
5. Must be about a product or service that is in demand & being searched for.
6. Must be easy to remember, in fact it must be a no brainer to remember.
7. Must be a domain a business could be built on.

I will be leasing domains for the rest of my life. That is what I do. That is what I have done. That is why I have sold only 18 domains and of those 5 of them came with equity, royalties, stock and even ownership. There are only a few hundred domain investors that see things the way I do. THEY are my target audience and they know me and I know them. It's about starting at the top of the pyramid. It's about taking the best names and transforming them into the best earners by hooking up with ONE party.

In each deal I have done it was the other party that made the deal because they had what it took to follow through. They came to the table with a certain expertise. They knew I had a missing piece of the puzzle and I knew they had a missing piece. Alone the value is stunted. Together the value is unlimited.

So I think when December 1 rolls around I will be able to demonstrate the quality of domains we are looking for and have folks take notice of them. I have the ability to take a domain earning $15/month and have it make $1500/month IF the elements needed are there. Traffic increases the chances. Domains without traffic may still qualify if they meet the requirements. But the more traffic the better chance. It really is about the traffic. Consistent traffic. Type in traffic. Then I have an equation and it either works or not. Pretty simple.

And the best part is you don't have to change anything you are currently doing with the domain. Just give me the listing and give me some time. It is not an overnight process. So if you have an immediate need, I am not your guy. Maybe for the TRAFFIC auction but not for leasing.

So as I begin to announce domains I think it will become clearer of what we are looking for and why.

Our first 3 listings are Rings.com, Roofs.com and Slogans.com and I will announce our complete first group when we open. It isn't what we will do next week or even next month. But when we reconvene here in 1 year, 2 years, 3 years.....that will be our measure of success.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

PS: Thanks for all the submissions and I am very sorry when I have to say 'No'. Really! But this only works for domains that meet the requirements and I don't want to waste your time when I know there is little chance of a success.