Cyber Squatters - Part 2

I wrote two weeks ago that a cyber squatter registered my domain thomasfreudenberg.com. I’ve contacted her, and I want to share the exchanged mails with you:

Dear Sir or Madam,

I'm writing to you because you have registered the domain name thomasfreudenberg.com.

I'm the former registrant of this domain, but my registrar failed to renew it for me, so it expired at the end of last October. I now wanted another registrar to register my domain, but they told me that someone else already registered it.

Therefore I want to ask you for your intention of registering that domain. As far as I can see you have no relation to this name, and visiting http://thomasfreudenberg.com showed me that you use this domain only to transfer the visitor to another site (gogogo.com). Because I don't see your interest in the particular domain name thomasfreudenberg.com I kindly ask you to transfer the domain back to me.

Best regards,
Thomas Freudenberg

Please visit the FAQ page regarding domain names http://www.mainstreamemail.com/faq.html .

Thank you,
Shelly

Dear Shelly,

thanks for your quick reply, even if it was rather short. Do I understand your FAQ correctly that you demand at least $1000 for the domain name thomasfreudenberg.com?!?

Regards,
Thomas Freudenberg

The mimium offer that we will consider is $1000.00.

Hi Shelly,

in this case I'm not interested, and I doubt anyone else is.

However, do you know the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP)? In paragraph 4(b)(i) it says:

[... the following circumstances ... shall be evidence of the registration and use of a domain name in bad faith] circumstances indicating that you have registered or you have acquired the domain name primarily for the purpose of selling, renting, or otherwise transferring the domain name registration to the complainant who is the owner of the trademark or service mark or to a competitor of that complainant, for valuable consideration in excess of your documented out-of-pocket costs directly related to the domain name.

Since you're demanding $1000 for the domain name this evidence is produced, so I'm considering filing a case at WIPO.

Regards,
Thomas Freudenberg

Hi Thomas,

We would like to recoup the $60.00 US Dollars that was spent acquiring the domain. We accept money orders or a certified check. Please let me know if you are interested.

Thank you,
Shelly

This conversation happened about two weeks ago. Since a couple of hours I’m the owner of thomasfreudenberg.com again. (Jayson already noticed )

One final question remains: which of the two domains thomasfreudenberg.com and thomas-freudenberg.com should I keep up with?