Slashdot Mirror
How Effective is Online Dispute Resolution?
An anonymous reader asks: "I recently had a website stolen from my ownership and removed from my hosting company. The hosting companies all say that everything looked legitimate to them, but I know it isn't and I can prove it. ICANN, WIPO and other dispute resolution services are expensive and I do not have the money to pursue. What alternatives are there as far as online dispute resolutions and other forms of mediation? I have talked to a computer lawyer and they were of no help because they were not familiar with this situation either. What methods of dispute resolution (auctions, domain names, etc.) have others at Slashdot used? How effective are they?"
The person needs to contact the registrar which the domain name was registered through to see what the status of the domain is...
.com zone...plus there's an additional redemption period giving one even more time; at a hefty price.
... perhaps it was actually in the name of the webhosting company or other entity which has since redirected the domain elsewhere.
If the domain was registered for them by their webhost, then they need to contact them again and ask what domain name registrar(s) they use.
Once they have contacted the proper registrar (there are about 100 of them to choose from, plus zillions of resellers), they'll likely be a lot closer to know what happened.
Another important detail is was the domain name active (website working) and then suddenly went "dead", etc or was it the domain one that was "forgotten" about for awhile?
Some possibilities...
* Either one got control of the registrar account for the domain or they tricked their registrar in releasing it and transferring it to another registrar and took control over it that way.
* The domain name could have expired - though typically there's a window of time where the domain doesn't resolve before actually being deleted...so for an active website, it's unlikely for this to occur since one usually has time to renew it even if it's been removed from the
* Domain was never registered to the person to begin with
* Whois information and/or other details were incorrect and someone filed a complaint about it to ICANN. The window of time before deletion in such instances can be much shorter and I'm not sure the redemption period applies or not...anyone know? This is really a "catch-22"...for if one's Whois information is wrong, how can they be contacted to correct it.
* UDRP was filed...assuming the person's Whois information was correct (reiterates again why updated Whois info is so important!), they should have received some emails and I believe at least one notice by regular Post. They can quickly determine if their name was involved a UDRP action by search the UDRP section at ICANN's website. On an aside, if one loses a UDRP, they can then attempt to file suit in Federal court...some folks have successfully done that.
If the domain name was lost via UDRP or deleted, there's likely little to nothing they can realistically do to recover it.
However, if the domain name was "stolen", they need to first build a timeline...
1. What date did they register it?
2. Who did they register it through?
3. How long was it registered for...1 year, 2 years, more? (2 years is no longer the default - 1 year is very common now)
4. Did they change registrars and/or hosting in that time...if so, on what dates? -and for what reasons?
5. When did they discover the domain name was no longer under their control?
If someone simply gained control of the domain name account *at the registrar*, then it's simple matter of contacting the registrar and having change the information back to the correct account holder.
If someone transferred the domain name out to another registrar and then took control of the domain, then it gets a bit more complicated...they'll have to contact both their original registrar as well as the registrar that it was transferred to...some registrars go out of their way to assist other registrars with such problems, while others such as Network Solutions (recently sold by VeriSign, so maybe they'll get better) generally don't give a damn and stonewall.
If the domain name is listed as being owned by their webhosting company instead of them (sounds from the story this is NOT the case, but mention this possibility since it's a common problem), then they should contact their webhosting company and have the Registrant field updated so it's in their name and not that of their webhosting company - one often has to negotiate here and make it worth the webhosting companies time to do this...
While actually pursuing legal action against them is expensive, just having a lawyer write them a letter asking to open channels of communication will normally scare them into submission. You know legal action is expensive, and they know that too, and if they know they'll loose they'll probably back off if they think you're willing to put up the cash.