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Image
from Bigstock
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If
you run a legitimate business
being labeled a reverse
domain name hijacker -
or a hijacker of any kind
considering the dictionary
definition for one is "a
person who steals goods" -
does not reflect well on the way you
do business or your enterprise. Unfortunately,
there is no criminal or financial
penalty for reverse domain name
hijacking (trying to steal a
domain from it's rightful owner)
even though the attempted theft
involves assets that can be worth a
million or more dollars!
Such
was the case when a flower seller in
Denmark that operates from Queen.dk
attempted to steal the Queen .com domain
name from veteran domain investor/develolper
Rick Schwartz, who has owned the
name for two decades, through an ill
advised UDRP
filing.
They resorted to that misuse of the
dispute resolution process after
Schwartz refused to sell them the
exceptionally valuable domain for
the price they wanted to pay.
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Anyone
who knows Schwartz knows he
does not take this kind of
thing lying down and will go
out of his way to make life
miserable (for a very long
time) for anyone who tries to
steal from him. When Queen
Flowers filed their UDRP
claim Schwartz promptly hired
one of the industry's top
lawyers, Zak
Muscovitch, to
file a response - a
masterful one that resulted in
Queen.dk and their attorney, Marie
Lykke Christiansen of
Patrade A/S Denmark, not
only losing
the flimsy case
but also - due to it being
such an obvious attempt to
steal a valuable name |
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- being found guilty
of a reverse domain name
hijacking attempt.
The
3-member
WIPO panel's decision
stated, '"In the Panel's
view, this is a classic
"Plan B" case where
a party, having been
frustrated in its negotiations
to buy a domain name, resorts
to the ultimate option of a
highly contrived and
artificial claim not
supported by any evidence
or the plain wording of the
UDRP. This stratagem has been
described in many UDRP cases
as "a highly improper
purpose" and it has often
contributed to findings of
Reverse Domain Name
Hijacking."
Now
the company, its CEO, Frands Jepsen
of Knud Jepsen,
and their attorney are dealing
with the aftermath that
Schwartz laid out in a detailed
post on his
personal blog Wednesday (June
28). Schwartz wrote, "Since
there is no prison time nor is
there even a monetary penalty
for their attempted theft, it
is up to domain and business
owners like myself to tell
everyone. Cattle Rustlers
used to be HUNG! |
Rick
Schwartz |
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The only
tool we have is public
shaming and humiliation.
Their names will be
forever associated with
their Reverse Domain Name
Hijacking. Even though it
was not successful, it cost
me $5,000 to defend my own
property and time and
all the other crap! Well, I
am here for my pound of
flesh Frands Jepson and
Company. You had your turn, now
it is my turn!" |
Schwartz
goes on to make the most of his
highly visible soap box and the
thousands of readers it attracts by
laying out a permanent record of
what Queen Flowers tried to do, a
record that - due to his blog's
authority and high ranking in Google
- will result in searches for Queen
Flowers, as well as those on the
names of the company CEO and legal
representatives, bringing this event
up over and over again (references
that will continue to grow in
visibility as more people link to
Schwartz's blog
post and other online
postings). Schwartz has also shared the
story extensively on his Twitter
account where his posts get similar
love from Google. In fact in a
Google search I just made for Queen
Flowers CEO "Frands Jepsen"
Schwartz's Twitter post on the
UDRP decision is already on page
1.
So
in the end, by taking the low
road, Queen Flowers ends up with
nothing but a damaged reputation,
wasted attorney fees and any hope
that Schwartz will ever sell them
the domain at any price now. It is a
lesson that others who would misuse
the UDRP process as a vehicle for
attempted theft should take to
heart.
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