Need advice about a situation please....

[andre]

I have a friend who owns a domain registration service - enom.com reseller

In the website terms it clearly states that clients are responsible to renew their domains on time and to ensure that they do not expire. Expired domains may be claimed by my friend to add to his investment portfolio.

Recently one of his clients did not renew two of their domains and they both expired. My friend renewed them both and added them to his portfolio. He has been hoping to get both domains and even registered a few variations a few months ago.

He's now parked the domains at sedo but is being contacted by his client who is demanding the main domains back, my friend is refusing to give them back, stating that they are no longer their domains since they allowed them to expire. He offered them to buy them from him but they are now threatening legal action as well as reporting him to ICAAN and to file UDRP

My friend checked with enom and they told him that as long as they domains are not related to a registerered trademark then they are his now since the client did not bother to renew them. Shoudl my friend be worried at all or has he acted within his legal rights? Your thoughts on this are appreciated please.

[Focus]

how long did he wait before claiming them after they expired?

[andre]

I believe it was a couple of hours for each domain

[Focus]

That's definitely not right...

[andre]

Do you mean from a legal prespective or from a moral standpoint?

[Focus]

Well, not sure legally as I have heard conflicting accounts on the grace period...but morally, if he knows the industry and the usual limits afforded on renewals he is being a real bottom feeder...

[Ubiquitous]

That is a very unethical way to run a business ... You might want to tell your friend that domain hijacking is essentially what he does for living.

>> Read This

[mulligan]

As far as I remember a registrar is under no obligation whatsoever to hold a domain for a client once it is past it's expiration date and can be dropped back into the pool immediately upon expiration

Edit:
Enom terms state:

Reactivation Period Process. For a period of approximately 30 days after expiration of the term of domain name registration services, you acknowledge that we may provide a procedure by which expired domain name registration services may be renewed. You acknowledge and agree that we may, but are not obligated to, offer this process, called the "reactivation period." You acknowledge that you assume all risks and all consequences if you wait until close to or after the expiration of the original term of domain name registration services to attempt to renew the domain name registration services. You acknowledge that we, for any reason and in our sole discretion, may choose not to offer a reactivation period and that we shall not be liable therefore. You acknowledge that reactivation period renewal processes, if any, may involve additional fees which we and your Primary Service Provider may determine. You acknowledge and agree that we may make expired domain name services(s) available to third parties, that we may auction off the rights to expired domain name services (the auction beginning close to the end or after the end of the reactivation period), and/or that expired domain name registration services may be re-registered to any party at any time.

Blah Blah Blah ...

So legally it would seem that once expired they are open for registration by whoever wants them

[andre]

That is a very unethical way to run a business ... You might want to tell your friend that domain hijacking is essentially what he does for living.

>> Read This

I agree but the waters run deeper between the two parties it seems...

I cannot go into the specifics but once upon a time they both enjoyed a work relationship that went sour and soon after it all became personal. My friend won't listen to anyone and is adamant about claiming the domains to himself not that they've expired.

Does he lagally have to have a minmum time for the grace period?

[acronym007]

Legally - questionable, there might be more to see.
Ethically & Morally - he acted poorly in this area. He violated his clients trust and tried to sell it back, ouch. Maybe he should get out of the reseller business if he is going to be active on the other end.

[Onward]

It sounds really slimey and unethical ...which is what most registrars are...however I know of no registrar that does not have some sort of a grace period...so that puts your friend on a different level.

Were expiration notices sent?

[andre]

It sounds really slimey and unethical ...which is what most registrars are...however I know of no registrar that does not have some sort of a grace period...so that puts your friend on a different level.

Were expiration notices sent?

Yes two automated expiration notices were sent for each domain and were ignored. To be be fair to my friend, they never even attempted to login to their account so he took it as a perfect opportunity to take over the domains which they completely neglected to do anything about in the first place.

I am not trying to justify his actions by the way, I'm just concered for his legal status on this matter and want to protect him, since he's unable to make a rational decision regarding this situation without getting angry about it.

[DomainsInc]

If he didn't give at least 30-45 days after expiry before claiming the domains he is pretty scummy.

[BinderGang]

What's your friends registrar?

I want to make sure never to register from their.

Plenty of times, my names have expired and my registrars have given me a good amount of time to renew after they expired.

[Dave Zan]

You might want to tell your friend that domain hijacking is essentially what he does for living.

Define domain hijacking in this instance.

The only thing andre's friend has to worry about is going to court if it comes
to that point.

[fatter]

when did he renew them if right after expiration date he violated icanns rules

RGP - Redemption Grace Period

How it works:

Now, the "delete" of a domain name (whether inside or outside of any applicable grace period) will result in a 30-day Deleted Name Redemption Grace Period. This grace period will allow the domain name registrant, registrar, and/or registry time to detect and correct any mistaken deletions.

During this 30-day period, the deleted name will be placed on REGISTRY-HOLD, which will cause the name to be removed from the zone. (The domain name will not function/resolve.) This feature will help ensure notice to the registrant that the name is subject to deletion at the end of the RGP, even if the contact data the registrar has for the registrant is no longer accurate.

During the Redemption Grace Period, registrants can redeem their registrations through registrars. Registrars would redeem the name in the registry for the original registrant by paying renewal fees, plus a service charge, to the registry operator. Any party requesting redemption would be required to prove its identity as the original registrant of the name.

After the 30-day period when the domain name can be redeemed, there is a 5-day period when the domain essentially is pending deletion. This timeframe is implemented to facilitate notice to all registrars before a domain is finally deleted.

[Dave Zan]

when did he renew them if right after expiration date he violated icanns rules

What rule would that be, though? If you're referring to RGP as you stated, go
through it again and see if there's anything there requiring registrars to offer
that option to registrants.

[jberryhill]

If you're referring to RGP as you stated, go
through it again and see if there's anything there requiring registrars to offer
that option to registrants.

There is not.

[DaddyHalbucks]

It is always amazing to me how careless people can be with valuable assets.

[GAMEFINEST]

If i had a friend who did that, i would never talk to him ever again, and take that as a lesson learned, if the friend feels guilty he might give them back but i doubt that