Hello,

I own a company in Germany which is called foobar (as example). I own all generic and some country-code specific endings since 6 years.

Now I have seen that on NameJet the .com variant of my name was sold for $900. I was bidding too, I lost and I am now very upset that this name reached such a price. Does anyone know if I do have a right on that domain in the United States or according to the ICANN regulations? I have not registered foobar as trade mark, I only derive the right from having a lot of other TLDs registered with that expression.

Would be greatly appreciated if you can assist me. :)

Regards,
Max

Owning the name in lots of other TLDs doesn't give you any rights to the .com. What you may have is Trademark rights to the name by way of use (not registered). You may then bring an arbitration (WIPO/UDRP) case against the .com registrant. You'll need to prove 3 things. 1) The name is confusingly similar to your trademark, 2) The current owner has no legitimate rights to the name, and 3) It was a bad faith registration. Needless to say you should consult a lawyer if you wish to proceed with a WIPO case.

The UDRP route will cost you at least $1500 in filing fees.

The UDRP route will cost you at least $1500 in filing fees.

Plus lawyer's fees (recommended).

It looks to me as though you have accepted your not prepared to pay $900 for it, but want to fight for it which will end up costing significantly more.

I can only see two options, and I don't mean to be unkind with this little reality check.

Either, you dig deep into your pockets,
Or you take it on the chin & walk away.

Maybe a posible 3rd option of wait until it's due for renewal & grab it, but that will only work if its not 'automaticaly renewed by the owner, who has paid quite a high price & is unlikely to 'let it slip'.