paul mann asked:


Hi. Is there anyway to look up who used to own a domain name. eg. the domain has expired and is now available, but I want to find out who owned it a couple of years ago, before they let it expire. I know that domaintools.com will do it, but I’m looking for something free!

Rochak asked:


Hi

While building a website several years ago (when I was a kid), I used a couple of images which I got off the internet. The website I built was dormant for years (never updated it and no one looked at it). After a couple of years, the domain name and hosting expired and the website got down on its own.

I am now getting legal letters from getty images asking me 1000′s of dollars for using two images without permission..

I would like to know if there is a way around this? The website was never used for commercial purpose and no gains were made. Is there any safe way to speak to them and get this matter settled. As mentioned the website is not live anymore nor are the images being used along with it.

This has got me quite worried.. hope someone can help

Apollo asked:


I have a very old domain name from the early 4th quarter of last year that I need to find out some information on and I was wondering how to find out what service hosted the website originally.

First Domain: www.nextlevelcomp.com
Second Domain: www.your-eve.com

Jason Williams asked:


My domain has expired. I decided to transfer it to Godaddy. Can I do that?

ah16696 asked:


My domain expired last May, but the website is still up? I was not aware that when a domain expired the webpage went with it? I don’t care to renew the domain, however I don’t want my site up any longer. When I search my name in Google, it is the first link that appears. How do I go about removing this?

Vera asked:


I already had “co.cc” domain name but it has an expired date that is only one year free.
The website said that if it is for personal use, the name will be free.

GamerEdie asked:


Need an expert in ICANN rules and domain names.

I am looking at acquiring a domain that has been expired for two years according to the WhoIs. It is still pending deletion. The hosting service is currently the “registrant” of the name, but the registry reads:

“EXPIRED DOMAIN

This domain has expired and will soon be deleted at the registry.
If this is your domain, and you would like to retain control, please
call customer support to have your domain restored.”

I understand there is usually a grace period of about 30 days. However, this has been expired for a really, really long time!

First question: Is it legal for a hosting service to put this URL on hold for that long without releasing it back to the wild?

Second: Would it be worth my while to contact the hosting service to see if I can purchase it directly through them? Or would that just alert them that someone is interested in it and cause them to hold it longer?

Noor asked:


Ok, so I’ve purchased 2 domain names from GoDaddy. Domain A’s hosting is expiring very soon and domain B’s hosting is expiring in October 2011. I really wanna cancel domain B so my question here is: if I canceled domain B, would I be able to transfer its hosting fees to domain A’s hosting?

Dub McGee asked:


potential clothing line. Since day 1 he wanted me to be his partner in this. I have a business mind while he does not. I purchased the domain name for the clothing line (I paid all of the domain fees). I designed 90% (or more) of the designs and apparel. I did 100% of the stuff for the business side (I contacted manufacturers and stayed in consistent contact with them, I looked into and followed up with the all of the legal stuff [business name, trademarks, etc], I did all of the research for ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING [trade shows, fashion shows, expos etc.] etc.). He would always talk about how big and successful the clothing line would be (which I don’t doubt) but he was not carrying his weight at all. I would try to get him more involved but he would always refer to the end result, how big it was going to be. He would also claim that he’s not good/capable of the technology and business stuff.I became annoyed and tired that he would continually talk the end result but never do anything to get there. When it was time to renew the domains I let him know that it was his turn to pay for them (chump change he had too, $20). I continually reminded him that they were going to expire. He ended up letting them expire. He wanted me to try to get them back since we could not renew them. The domain service provider said they would resale them but for a fee of around $150, he didn’t want to pay that much. It has be over 10 months since my old roommate has made any effort in establishing/creating this clothing line (making it more than a name). I am not in contact with him any longer as we have gone different directions. FINALLY, MY ? – If I purchase the domain name and get the trademarks and make this successful can he claim ownership since he came up with the concept? I was thinking that I would write up a contract pretty much asking him for permission to own, establish, and promote this name leaving him out. I was thinking that with clever wording and the approval of 3+ attorneys I would do this. Is this contract/agreement necessary since he does not “legally” own the name (but did come up with it..so ethically he owns it)?