Legal Question: Cybersquatters

Okay, to those of you familiar with the issue of cybersquatting (registering a domain with the intent of selling it back to someone for a profit): I have a client (still in the discovery phase) who owns a restaurant in the local area. I pulled up the desired domain name on a registrar's site and it's registered. I try to pull the site up... no site. I ran the Whois; it's a local computer company / web design wannabe's with a site that says they do "cunsulting". Yup, they spelled consulting WRONG on their home page. In NO way is the name affiliated or related to anything this bozo does. He obviously wanted to try and leverage for either money or a web design job.

Question: do I

1) advise the client to contact their attorney and have them issue papers to the bozo based on the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act?

2) advise the client to wait the bozo out, the domain expires in March. I could register a .biz or .net and see if he fails to renew the domain?

3) contact the bozo myself and explain why he can't do what he did, and that the client will contact an attorney and sue and he'll get socked with legal fees and court costs, so he should just sign it over to me for the cost incurred?

Re: an article on Anticybersquatting Act >>>

Thanks.

1) not a bad idea

2) An even better idea since march is close enough, and if that doesnt work out then you can fall back on idea #1.

3) bad idea. If it was your own site or something that was in question...then id say yeah go ahead. But since its for a client.......it seems the less appropriate/proffessional way to go if you know what i mean.

Im pretty sure any sort of dispute though will be settled with the domain going to the restaurant.


on another note.........this guy (or kid possibly...judging from the spelling) seems to be a slime ball. No matter what bozo's excuse is....you really know damn well why he owns that domain. I mean bozo's local lol. It doesnt really get clearer than that. If he was in a diff. country....then its a whole other story.

The best way to avois this is...

First : Register the domain name as soon as you can the best is to register thr day your company have a name. Even if you dont paln to have a website really soon it prevent other form steallig your domain....

Two: Chekinf for avaible domain on a who is can be dangerous, haker tand to obser registar check (don't aks me how) and more often than not will reister domin who as been recently check (since anyone making a who is a an non existing domain is palnning to register it)If your domin is avaible register as soon as you can!

Also...

Make sure your client know the expiration date for his domain... I had a client who forgot to re-register his domain...and...guest wath!

I keep the expiration date of my clients domain... I can can give them a call just in case!