

Ask HN: Should domain squatters be required to list an asking price on domains? - andrewljohnson


======
lutusp
This is like suggesting that people going out on dates should be required to
reveal whether they'll put out at the beginning of the evening, at their front
door.

Prices have value, and people should have the right to be coy about what
they'll accept. A domain squatter's activities may be sleazy and borderline-
illegal, but they have the same rights as someone at an auction whose reserve
price is a secret, and who may well refuse the offer of the successful bidder.

~~~
benologist
I agree it's sleazy but how is it borderline illegal?

And does it really matter anymore? Apparently we have 276 million registered
domains [1] and when 2012 numbers were released [2]:

    
    
        About 21 percent of .com and .net websites, by the 
        way, are just one-page sites and 15 percent are 
        registered but don’t point to a working site at all.
    

I think that 21% includes squatters on top of which .com+.net are only ~50% of
total domains.

[1]
[http://www.verisigninc.com/en_US/innovation/dnib/index.xhtml](http://www.verisigninc.com/en_US/innovation/dnib/index.xhtml)

[2] [http://techcrunch.com/2013/04/08/internet-
passes-250m-regist...](http://techcrunch.com/2013/04/08/internet-
passes-250m-registered-top-level-domain-names/)

~~~
lutusp
> I agree it's sleazy but how is it borderline illegal?

It seems that domain squatting (cybersquatting) is illegal in some
circumstances:

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cybersquatting](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cybersquatting)

> And does it really matter anymore?

Yes, of course. No matter now many registered domain names there are, names
that match copyrighted or trademarked words are still a matter of great
interest to cybersquatters.

~~~
benologist
Copyright and trademark infringement are different issues? There might be
overlap but I don't think those are factors in Sedo's business nor are they
what people mean by domain squatting.

~~~
lutusp
> ... nor are they what people mean by domain squatting.

Of course they are -- all one need do is read the article I linked, which
describes how cybersquatters sit on names of established companies or
trademarks, until someone tries to pay their ransom. Many such cases end up in
court, because that kind of cybersquatting is illegal.

~~~
benologist
You are talking about a different group of people and I suspect a very tiny
subset of domain squatting? The post and everything else has been about the
annoying but legal selling / auctioning of domains also called domain
squatting.

