I've just bid a dollar on another expired name. I trust you guys, so I'm going to post the name - it's HourlyCoin.com. There is another 14 hours to go before I know if I am going to get the name. I'm the top bidder in an expired name dutch auction. Well top bidder is perhaps not the best description. I watched the name come down in price from a lot more than $1, and I waited until the BIN reached the dollar mark, and then I jumped in. As long as the current owner doesn't renew it, then I should get it. The name could be good for a faucet, but those are not as popular as they used to be. It looks as if the name has been in use for a few years, and it was a HYIP site. HYIP is defined as a High Yield Investment Programme, and it is usually a ponzi scheme, so it may be toxic and require a bit of cleaning up before it can be sold or used. HourlyCoin is registered in a number of other extensions, and that is usually a good sign.
Yesterday I noticed that GoogleRanking.com was siiting in the drop lists, and I must confess I was tempted. I'm not quite as fearful of names containing trademarks as most domainers, and I have owned a few in the past without any problems. One example is SonyVideo.com. Sony is a made up word, and it is heavily trademarked. In order to avoid problems, you need to follow a few rules. Things you must do -
- State that you have no connection with the trademark holder or its affiliates
- Affirm that you recognise the trademark, and the right of the owner
- Provide clickable links to a few of the owner's pages that are related to the keywords in the domain name
- Be prepared to transfer the name without charge should the owner request it
All of those should be prominent on the index page of the website.
Things you should no do -
- Seek to gain any revenue from the trademark holder as a result of using the name
- Attempt to sell the name to the trademark holder
- Include any sponsored links to any products that are in competition or related to the TM holder.
Whilst "google ranking" would appear to be a nice keyphrase, I found it difficult to think of any way to monetise the name and gain a reasonable return. In view of this, I decided not to register the name.
Please remember that these comments are based on my limited knowledge, and that I have no legal training.