Internet Domain Recovery for a Furniture Manufacturer
A competitor registered a domain with our client's name. We conducted arbitration and recovered the address in 28 days without a court visit.
A local furniture manufacturer from Rzeszów lost access to their main domain due to a payment error. The address was taken over by a competitor who demanded a 12,500 PLN ransom for the return of the name.
The challenge
The company Dąb-Meble has been on the market for 11 years. Through an invoice oversight, their domain expired overnight from Thursday to Friday. After only 4 hours, it was taken over by a domain trader's bot. The website stopped working, and email for 14 employees was blocked. The client was losing about 2,800 PLN daily due to lack of contact with contractors from Germany and Slovakia. The blackmailer offered to resell the domain for an amount that was five times the annual cost of server maintenance.
Our approach
At Karpaty Insight Group, the matter was clear from the start. First, we secured evidence of using the Dąb-Meble trademark, which the client registered in 2018 under number R.314287. Our team (3 people) prepared an application to the arbitration court at NASK. Instead of waiting for a court case, we used the cease and desist procedure, indicating bad faith. We showed the trader that his chances of winning were zero and the litigation costs would overwhelm him.
The solution
We prepared 14-page legal documentation that documented the brand's history and previous extortion attempts. We sent an official pre-trial letter. When the trader saw that a specialized firm from Rzeszów was handling the case, not a layman, he changed his tone. We closed the entire mediation and arbitration process without going through criminal proceedings.
Results
The domain returned to the client in less than a month. The company regained full control over email and the website without paying the ransom. Our service costs were 63% lower than the blackmailer's demands.
Timeline
-
March 4, 2024Issue reporting and trademark rights audit
-
March 7, 2024Sending pre-trial demand to deliver the domain
-
March 18, 2024Filing application to NASK arbitration court
-
April 1, 2024Transfer of AuthInfo code and return of domain to client
"The situation was critical because emails to clients weren't arriving. Karpaty Insight Group acted specifically. Instead of scaring us with years in court, they recovered the address in 4 weeks."