Not a typo – just an illustration of the lengths companies such as Travelocity will go to in order to snap up domain names needed for when users mistype a brand name.
The Sabre-owned online travel agency has just won a case through the National Arbitration Forum in the US to get its hands on Traveolcity.com.
Officials argued that the existing owner DNRecover was using the domain in “bad faith” and trading links to Travelocity competitors.
Enom, which failed to respond once the investigation was launched, had owned the contentious domain name since March 2000 but has now been ordered to transfer the URL immediately.
The issue is not an isolated one but demonstrates how eager brands are to secure as many variations of their URL as possible given that web browsers are frequently becoming a starting point for search or have predictive suggestions included.
NB: Updated – Enom is a domain name wholesale registrar, not the owner as previously stated
Hi Kevin – I want to clarify that eNom was NOT a party in this case as is stated above. eNom is a domain registrar, NOT the respondent in this matter. In this case, the respondent used the eNom domain registration platform to register the domain name. The National Arbitration Forum requires the registrar of a domain in conflict to confirm the identity of the domain’s then-current registrant. eNom promptly responded as required.
eNom is the largest wholesale registrar in the world and it does not act as an adjudicator of third party disputes regarding these domain names. eNom is obligated to comply with all laws, and act in accordance with legal requirements imposed by ICANN. The company will only disable or transfer a domain name in dispute if it is required to do so by a court, law, governmental order, or in order to comply with the law.
Jeffrey Eckhaus, Senior Vice President, Platform at eNom
Great Resource! I am adding your blog to my favorites, given my interest in finding domain names. One of the sites that helped me find great name suggestions was squadhelp.com. I got 400+ domain name suggestions in 2 days. They engage people across the world who submit ideas – and the best idea wins the award amount. It sure beats the time and energy I would have spent myself to come up with names.