We covered the results of the UDRP against the aged, premium domain name, Raja.com.
Its registrant and Respondent in this case, Mr. Rajasimha Aji, acquired the domain for free, back in the day when such domain registrations did not cost a penny.
Indeed, until August of 1995, Network Solutions was not charging $100 per two years for the registration of domain names, and Raja.com cost nothing to register, according to Mr. Rajasimha Aji.
In the UDRP, the Complainant, Raja, France, represented by Domgate, asserted that the Respondent’s name isn’t “Raja” and that they lack rights to it.
Mr. Rajasimha Aji pointed out that “Raja” is a common pet name or nick name for Rajasimha. Past content from the web site, along with a US passport verified that he is indeed the same person.
How much money is Raja.com making from PPC parking, as it’s currently parked at Sedo?
According to the UDRP, Mr. Rajasimha Aji said that Sedo’s earnings for PPC at Raja.com amounted to $123.30 dollars for the past 12 months. That amount, compared to offers in the “hundreds of thousands of dollars” made by the Complainant, indicate that the Respondent had no interest in selling his own personal first name!
The Raja.com case shows, however, that such premium domain names should be utilized in a manner that preserves their standing. Developing premium domain names is a must for financial reasons as well. In the case of Raja.com, its owner could have forwarded it to his LinkedIn profile, for example.
Raja.com – Raja means “king” in Hindi – Photo by Ivan Diaz on Unsplash
