…and loses the UDRP for a domain that just sold for $26,000.
It makes sense to defend your domain names when they are hit with a UDRP. Especially if you have a $26,000 sale on the line.
So it’s baffling that the owner of Xtream.com didn’t respond to a UDRP filed against the domain name on January 31, the day after the domain name sold in the live NamesCon auction for $26,000.
Mediacom Communications Corporation filed the dispute and won thanks, in part, to National Arbitration Forum receiving no response in the case.
You can bet that Mediacom either became aware of the sale through auction marketing or the auction result. Or, it might have even been a losing bidder in the auction.
Regardless, the dispute decision makes no reference to the auction.
Unless Mediacom had the domain owner dead to rights somehow, the lack of response doesn’t make sense to me.
Perhaps the buyer has been in quarantine since NamesCon.
What do attorneys charge on average to defend a UDRP?
Depends, but I think a typical one is $3k-$6k.
Thanks. A lot of money for most people, but not as bad as I thought it might be!
I think any domainer worth his weight, or that reads domainnamewire.com daily doesn’t need a lawyer to respond to this type of UDRP.
Do you know what the winning/losing percentages are for domainers who go it alone vs domainers who hire attorneys? (I don’t) It also depends on how a domainer wants to spend whatever extra time or money they may have.
Obviously a lawyer can defend you better if they have experience in this area, but thanks to the stories here at DNW I know there are many lawyers hired who don’t know less about UDRP’s than us readers. I think 2 hours in preparing a good defense by the domainer himself is worth saving $3-5K and in this case obviously better than not responding.
I don’t disagree with your logic, and I’ve never been involved in a UDRP. But if it only takes 2 hours for a NON-attorney to prepare a good defense, why would Andrew estimate that hiring an attorney typically costs $3k-$6k? If it’s a 10 – 20 hour project for attorneys, it seems that non-attorneys would need at least 2x that amount of time.
Yes exactly, you need a good amount of prep to cover all bases and be familiar or refamiliar with UDRP and other laws. If you’re doing a job a pro would normally do, you need a multiple of that time to do a comparable job yourself, assuming you’re capable and understand everything equally as well. A simple job like tiling a floor, I would guess at least a few days or weeks to understand the theory (process, equipment, materials), and then carefully applying your unpracticed technique to achieve a similar professional result. At least with tiling you can start over.
Blame the auction, and front runners, otherwise this would have never seen the light of day.