domain name reg problem

[wizard at neonedge.com (Wizard)]

> Does anyone have any experience with a corporation wanting, no wait,
> demanding that you transfer ownership of a domain you own?
>
> Or, does anyone know of any good info sources on the web for such info?
>
> TIA,
> Phil Buckley
> domain in question... howiecarr.com

The issue is whether or not you have some legitimate reason for owning it.
Basically, if you can't justify the registration, then you probably will
lose any litigation. The process, however is costly for the organization,
and if you were to ask for some reasonable compensation for expenses, then
the organization might be willing to make a deal, rather than involve
lawyers. Don't offer to "sell" them the domain, as that pretty much
indicates "squatting" to the registrar, and they may yank your domain
immediately (depending on the registrar) and place in a sort of escrow until
an outcome can be reached. Either way, if you don't have as large a chunk of
change as the complaining party, then you might as well expect to lose.
   There have been numerous cases where even legitimate registrants have
lost control of their domains due to trademark infringement, squatting, or
just lack of legal funds. A couple were "classicvolvo.com" and
"aerosmith.com". You might want to search 2600.com, eff.org, or slashdot for
domain disputes. Here's an interesting article from EFF -
http://www.eff.org/Legal/Cases/Ford_v_GreatDomains/20020110_eff_pr.html
Good luck,
Grant M.