Should you pay a cybersquatter for your domain?
Pay when the asking price is well under the cost of a UDRP complaint, €1,050 in our fees plus a WIPO fee from $1,500, and the seller holds no other domains using your brand. Otherwise refuse. Under section 3.1.1 of the WIPO Overview 3.1, a price above the seller's costs, aimed at you, is evidence of bad faith.
When is buying the domain the better deal?
When three things are true at once: the price is low, the seller has no pattern of registering your brand, and the domain is not being used against you.
Neither our fee nor the WIPO filing fee for a UDRP complaint is recoverable from the registrant, even when you win. If the seller asks €500, buying is cheaper and faster. What a UDRP complaint costs sets the two options side by side, with resale price data.
Buying is the wrong call in these cases:
| Situation | Why not to pay | Do this instead |
|---|---|---|
| The domain sends emails pretending to be you | Paying funds a fraudster, who registers the next one | Report it and file |
| The seller holds several domains using your trademark | Section 3.1.1 of the WIPO Overview 3.1 lists "a pattern of abusive registrations" as a sign of bad faith. One payment does not stop the rest | One UDRP complaint covering all of them |
| The asking price runs to five figures | A complaint costs a fraction of it, if the case is strong | File, after we check the case |
| The seller threatens to sell to "the highest bidder" or to your competitor | Section 3.1.1 lists that threat as a sign of bad faith | Keep the message. It is evidence |
Does asking the price hurt a later UDRP complaint?
Not by itself. A reply naming a price can even help you. Section 3.1.1 of the WIPO Overview 3.1 says offers to sell above the registrant's documented out-of-pocket costs count against the registrant where they target a trademark owner.
The same section works the other way for a seller with a genuine reason to hold the name. Where the registrant has "an independent right to or legitimate interest in" the domain, an offer to sell is not evidence of bad faith, "irrespective of which party solicits the prospective sale". A bakery that registered a dictionary word before your brand existed can ask whatever it likes.
The real risks of writing first are practical. The price usually goes up once the seller learns a business wants the name. The seller can change the website, take down the page offering the domain for sale or transfer the domain to someone else before you file. That is why the evidence comes first.
How do I approach the seller without weakening my position?
Capture the evidence first: dated screenshots of the website, any "for sale" page, the WHOIS record with the creation date, and an Archive.org capture. Once you make contact, assume all of it can change.
Then make the approach without your company name on it. A domain broker, or a personal email address with no link to the brand, gets a lower first price than an email from your legal department. Do not mention lawyers, trademarks or the UDRP in the first message.
Pay through an escrow service, never by direct transfer. The escrow holds your money until the domain is in your registrar account.
Keep every message. If the deal fails, the seller's price demand and any threat to sell elsewhere go into the complaint.
Can I file a complaint and still negotiate?
Yes, and it is often the strongest way to negotiate. Once WIPO asks the registrar to verify the registration, the UDRP Rules require the registrar to confirm within two business days that the domain is locked. The seller can no longer transfer it to someone else.
Section 4.9 of the WIPO Overview 3.1 says the case can then be suspended for settlement, typically for 30 days with another 30 available on request. If you settle before a panelist is appointed, WIPO transfers the domain through its Standard Settlement Form and refunds the panel portion of your filing fee. After appointment, there is no refund.