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Domain drop catching, also known as ___domain sniping, is the practice of registering a ___domain name once registration has lapsed, immediately after expiry.
Background
editWhen a ___domain is first registered, the customer is usually given the option of registering the ___domain for one year or longer, with automatic renewal as a possible option.[1] Although some ___domain registrars often make multiple attempts to notify a registrant of a ___domain name's impending expiration, a failure on the part of the original registrant to provide the registrar with accurate contact information makes an unintended registration lapse possible. Practices also vary, and registrars are not required to notify customers of impending expiration.[1] Unless the original registrant holds a trademark or other legal entitlement to the name, they are often left without any form of recourse in getting their ___domain name back. It is incumbent on registrants to be proactive in managing their name registrations and to be good stewards of their ___domain names. By law there are no perpetual rights to ___domain names after payment of registration fees lapses, aside from trademark rights granted by common law or statute.
Redemption Grace Period (RGP)
editThe Redemption Grace Period is an addition to ICANN's Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA)[2] which allows a registrant to reclaim their ___domain name for a number of days after it has expired.[3] This length of time varies by TLD, and is usually around 30 to 90 days.[3] Prior to the implementation of the RGP by ICANN, individuals could easily engage in ___domain sniping to extort money from the original registrant to buy their ___domain name back.
After the period between the ___domain's expiry date and the beginning of the RGP, the ___domain's status changes to "redemption period" during which an owner may be required to pay a fee (typically around US$100)[4] to re-activate and re-register the ___domain.[5] ICANN's RAA requires registrars to delete ___domain registrations once a second notice has been given and the RGP has elapsed. At the end of the "pending delete" phase of 5 days, the ___domain will be dropped from the ICANN database.[5]
Drop catch services
editFor particularly popular ___domain names, there are often multiple parties anticipating the expiration. Competition for expiring ___domain names has since become a purview of drop catching services. These services offer to dedicate their servers to securing a ___domain name upon its availability, usually at an auction price.[5] Individuals with their limited resources find it difficult to compete with these drop catching firms for highly desirable ___domain names.[5]
Retail registrars such as GoDaddy or eNom retain names for auction through services such as TDNAM or Snapnames through a practice known as ___domain warehousing.[6] Drop catch services are performed by both ICANN-accredited registrars and non-accredited registrars.
Domain futures / options or back-orders
editSome registry operators (for example dot-РФ, dot-PL, dot-RU, dot-ST, dot-TM, dot-NO) offer a service by which a back-order (also sometimes known as a "___domain future" or "___domain option") can be placed on a ___domain name.
If a ___domain name is due to return to the open market, then the owner of the back-order will be given the first opportunity to acquire the ___domain name before the name is deleted and is open to a free-for-all. In this way back-orders will usually take precedence over drop-catch.
There may be a fee for the back-order itself, often only one back-order can be placed per ___domain name and a further purchase or renewal fee may be applicable if the back-order succeeds.
Back-Orders typically expire in the same way ___domain names do, so are purchased for a specific number of years.
Different operators have different rules. In some cases back-orders can only be placed at certain times, for example after the ___domain name has expired, but before it has returned to the open market (see Redemption Grace Period).
A back-order is often more like an "option" than a "future" as there is often no obligation for the new registrant to take the name, even after it has been handed to the owner of the back-order. For example, some registries give the new registrant 30 days to purchase a renewal on the name before it is once again returned to the open market (or any new back-order registrant).
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Beginner's Guide to Domain Names". ICANN. 6 December 2010. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
- ^ "2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement - ICANN". www.icann.org. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
- ^ a b "Restoring a Deleted Domain Name from the Redemption Grace Period"
- ^ "Expiration and deletion of ___domain registrations - Google Domains Help". support.google.com. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
- ^ a b c d Mike Industries (6 March 2005). "How to Snatch an Expiring Domain". Retrieved 11 November 2012.
- ^ Robin Wauters (December 3, 2008). "GoDaddy Uses Standard Tactics To Warehouse Domains". TechCrunch. Retrieved 16 October 2012.