Saturday Night Live Alum Kevin Nealon Fights Lapse of Eponymous Domain Name
Kevin Nealon, of Saturday Night Live fame, wasn't laughing when his domain name "kevinnealon.com" lapsed when he failed to receive renewal notices from his registrar for the period 2006-2007. Prior to the domain's lapse, Nealon's website contained information relating to his services and accolades. Seizing the opportunity, an unrelated third party registered the lapsed domain soon thereafter in February 2007 and the website became a portal of commercial links.
Nealon filed a complaint with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center and successfully obtained transfer of the domain name. In ordering the transfer, the sole panelist, among other things, agreed with Nealon that the registrant of a domain name based on another's notoriety is evidence of opportunistic bad faith, which was further accentuated by the timing of the registration of the domain immediately after Nealon's registration lapsed.
Lesson learned? Don't rely on your registrar as your sole means for notice of renewal if you value and want to maintain your domain.
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