"What
if the domain name I want is already taken?"
When you do
your domain name search on the whois, you may find that someone else
on the Internet has already registered that name for his or her own
site. Try a slight variation on that name. Consider a hyphenated
form. Think of a name that might be a synonym. Consider a name using
"the", "this", "e-" or other additions
that may be suitable. See if the same name is available with a
different domain extension.
There have
been so many names registered already within the .com .net .org
registry, it can be difficult to find a suitable available name, and
you will probably have to be creative. Two and three character
names (not counting the extension) are already gone, and practically
all four character names as well.
To ease the
crunch, ICANN has allowed a longer domain name (up to 67 characters
now including the extension, instead of the original 26), and will
introduce brand new extensions
in late 2000.
Occasionally,
you may find your desired domain name "for sale."
Unfortunately, there are a group of speculators on the web who buy up
domain names, not to use for their own web sites, but to re-sell for
exorbitant prices. While we all try to discourage this, little
can be done at present. Just keep in mind that, while a catchy
and easy to remember domain name is an asset for success on the web,
it is no substitution for a carefully designed web site properly
submitted to search engines and linked throughout the Internet
community. You would usually do better to take your second
choice domain name, and spend the extra thousands of dollars these
speculators sometimes ask to apply to your web site content, design
and marketing.
Finally, if
you are the owner of a trademark or feel you have the intellectual
rights to a domain name that has been registered by someone else,
please refer to the Core/ICANN
Uniform Dispute Policy published on this site.
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