Domain Squatter Loses Domain to Mexican Billionaire

This is an interesting but hilarious piece of news that happened recently, so I thought I would share it with you guys. A domain squatter lost the domain name CarlosSlimHelu.com to the real billionaire. Mr Carlos Slim also happens to be 2^nd on the Forbes list of richest men in the world. This episode is classic; if you don’t know what a WIPO ruling is, read on.

A little explanation on domain squatting is required. You might have heard of some cases in the news of domain squatters getting into trouble by registering a trademarked domain, or the name of someone famous. Domain squatting is exactly that. WIPO stands for World Intellectual Property Organization, the UN body that judges on intellectual property rights. WIPO rulings are made when the panel makes judgments based on complaints received.

In this case, it is very obvious that the name CarlosSlimHelu.com referred to none other than the man himself. But what is hilarious is the squatter’s own arguments trying to justify that his domain registration wasn’t done in bad faith. The guy demanded $55,000,000 from Mr Slim to get the domain back, and when he didn’t get a response, redirected the name to a porn site to “get his attention.” It goes without saying what happened afterwards was a no brainer. Read all the details in the ruling here.

One of the reasons the domain industry is getting a bad reputation is due to such domain squatters. In the above case, it’s obviously written with “bad faith” all over it. Reading the story did give me a good laugh, though.

For me, a domain name is a piece of cyber-estate that gives me a presence on the Web, and I’ve written about domains at various times, like how to choose a good domain name, or why .com is best. You can either register a domain name or you can buy it from someone, but one thing’s for sure – there’s a right way, and a wrong way to go about it.

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 17th, 2009 at 5:47 pm and is filed under Domains. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

7 Responses to “Domain Squatter Loses Domain to Mexican Billionaire”

MPE on January 21st, 2009 at 7:08 pm

“e-squatting” Haha.
Rose | Charlotte SEO on January 25th, 2009 at 5:36 pm

Squatting is illegal, even on the Internet. I don’t agree with the domain squatter. He knew what he’s doing when he used the domain name CarlosSlimHelu.com. He’s using the popularity of a famous personality for his own good.
Dara on January 29th, 2009 at 9:38 pm

I can see why people would get upset and riled up about this…but maybe the guy was just smart in snatching up the name. I can’t say that I wouldn’t want to, or at least be tempted, if given the chance.
Kier on February 4th, 2009 at 1:48 pm

Check out this for a truly epic domain name story: http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/05/22/the-cm-scam/
Jim on February 19th, 2009 at 3:27 pm

Dara,
In your entry above you seem to agree with the domain squatter.

I wonder if you might feel differently if somebody registered www. DaraYourLastName. com and had it lead to porno sites?

I’ve had a large and very rich “not-for-profit” organization use the trademark name and similar domain name of my small and poor not-for-profit organization. We don’t have the money for a legal battle.

I don’t like domain squatters or domain grabbers.
Gary Taylor on March 8th, 2009 at 9:02 pm

No one likes a domain squatter, even when its not a trademark issue they cause problems, thinking they can command exorbitant prices for little or no effort.

http://www.3ac.co.uk/no-one-likes-a-domain-squatter

I’m sure many people have come across a similar scenario to me.
Slimming Clubs on August 11th, 2009 at 3:08 pm

We had a problem with our domain. Seems that the people who buy it just so they can charge someone else are indicative of todays culture… i.e. whats the easiest way I can make lots of money without having to build a business through hard work!