It’s not just possible but actually *probable* that at one point or another, you’ll have to defend yourself against a company that, instead of just buying the asset it wants from the existing owner, decides to bully him/her out of it.

Maybe because they decide your asking price is too high.

Perhaps because they’re not happy with how the negotiations have been going.

Or it might just be a case of “trigger-happy end user”… who knows!

And, frankly, bullying people can be extremely effective when it comes to potential legal battles, because the proverbial barrier to entry can end up being quite high, a bit of a paradox in light of the fact that domaining is (in)famous for being an industry with a very *low* barrier to entry.

Now fighting your average UDRP is not something that’s going to cripple you financially but even so, hiring a lawyer to craft a carefully-worded response is going to cost you a decent chunk of change… especially if you go with someone who has meaningful IP experience, preferable domain-related experience.

If you’re unlucky and your panel decides against you, things become a LOT more tricky.

You see, UDRP decisions are not set in stone. You can attack them in court but this, of course, means that you’re in for a potentially expensive legal battle and this is the part where a lot of domainers would just give up. If you win, you can be properly compensated but the legal system is far from perfect… so even if you give it your best shot, you might not 🙁

The main and only purpose of this post is making it clear that even in an industry like ours, where everyone with a few dollars and a dream can participate, there can be occasional hidden costs… and among them, legal costs can be quite debilitating.

If the domainer who has to deal with all of this is anything but legally sophisticated, it just makes matters even worse. Kind of like a strong punch which takes you completely by surprise. What happened? Why did this happen? What next?

I wish I had an applicable solution other than “make more money” but, unfortunately, I just don’t. The best I can do is bring this problem to your attention or, if you will, on your radar. Where you take things from here is entirely up to you!

Oh and if you haven’t come across the abbreviations I’ve used before:

RDNH = Reverse Domain Name Hijacking

UDRP = Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy

IP = Intellectual Property