Hi Harvey, The following does not constiute legal advice.
If things are exactly as described here (customers sometimes warp history a bit), she should be able to recover the domain name under the DNC's DRS section related to people registering domain names under circumstances where it's clear they were doing it on-behalf of the complainant. If she has demonstratable rights to the name and the developer doesn't, she will probably benefit from also claiming under other sections. Following this path will cost around $1800+GST for the DRS process + a lawyer's fee for preparing the complaint ... you get one shot only at a complaint, and it will be rejected if you fail to cover any of the required points so please get an IP laywer to prepare the claim. Cheaper alternative, phone the developer & see if it can be resolved amicably. Depending on the facts, a small claims court might also be an appropriate avenue for redress; but going that path may damage other opportunities so consult a lawyer first. I've informally advised in the past for a couple of people who managed to resolve everything amicably with a bit of advice. If you've still got my phone number and want to discuss give me a call this evening, or drop me an email off-list. regards Bruce On Wed, Dec 1, 2010 at 1:24 PM, Harvey Kane <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi All, > > This is a long shot, but here goes. I have just picked up a client who has > had a bad experience with another developer - ie she paid for a website and > that was the last she heard from him. > > The developer registered her a domain name, (companyname).co.nz, but > unsurprisingly the registrant of the domain is the aforementioned web > developer. There is no mention of her on the whois at all. Pretty raw deal > actually. > > She's pretty upset about the whole thing, so if it's likely to be a long > drawn-out drama to reclaim the domain then we will probably just register > another (less ideal) domain name. Obviously she has tried emailing / calling > the old developer for the UDAI, but we're not really expecting anything to > happen there. > > I'd be open to any suggestions from people here who have been through this > before - even if the suggestion is "too hard, don't bother". > > Thanks, > > Harvey. > > -- > Harvey Kane > > Phone: > - Auckland: +64 9 950 4133 > - Wanaka: +64 3 746 8133 > - Mobile: +64 21 811 951 > > Email: [email protected] > If you need to contact me urgently, please read my email policy > www.ragepank.com/email/ > > -- > NZ PHP Users Group: http://groups.google.com/group/nzphpug > To post, send email to [email protected] > To unsubscribe, send email to > [email protected] > -- Bruce Clement Home: http://www.clement.co.nz/ Twitter: http://twitter.com/Bruce_Clement Google Buzz: http://www.google.com/profiles/aotearoanz "Before attempting to create something new, it is vital to have a good appreciation of everything that already exists in this field." Mikhail Kalashnikov -- NZ PHP Users Group: http://groups.google.com/group/nzphpug To post, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe, send email to [email protected]
