Domain disputes - registering a name first is one thing, having a right to it is another
A domain name is technically an address: whoever registers it first and keeps paying the renewal fee holds the record. A brand, by contrast, is a right, and that is exactly where the conflict starts. A company with a registered trademark discovers that the domain matching its own name already belongs to someone else - sometimes an empty page, sometimes a competitor's advertising, sometimes a sales listing at a price ten times the cost of registration.
This page explains how domain disputes actually work in Georgia: how the registrant is identified, what differs procedurally between the .ge zone and international zones, what has to be proven in court, how a transfer of the domain is frozen while the case runs, and what happens when the domain was taken by a former partner, developer or marketing agency. Trademark registration and counterfeit enforcement are covered on their own pages.
Five domain conflicts and the realistic way out
In a domain case the first question is not "whose name is it" but "who is the registrant and which zone is the domain in" - that determines whether the matter takes months or years.
Recovering a domain - from lookup to transfer
Identify the registrant and the zone
The first step is technical: who the registrant is, through which registrar, when the domain was created and how often it has changed hands. This determines both the defendant and the procedure - in the .ge zone the dispute goes to court, while international zones offer an administrative route. The lawyer also checks whether the registrant holds one domain or hundreds, because bulk warehousing of names is strong evidence of bad faith.
Document the right
The claim to the name has to be proven: the trademark certificate with its priority date, the company name in the commercial register, dated materials showing genuine use of the brand (advertising, press, sales, social media). The earlier those dates are compared with the domain registration, the stronger the case.
Preserve the evidence
Whatever sits on the domain changes over time and is usually deleted the moment a demand letter arrives. The lawyer captures the page in advance - notarised printouts, web archive snapshots, email correspondence about a sale. A message quoting a ransom price is often the single most valuable document in the file.
Demand letter and negotiation
The registrant receives a letter setting out the right and a deadline for transfer. Many disputes end here: a good-faith holder who picked the name by coincidence usually hands it over without argument, while a professional squatter starts talking about price. At this point the lawyer compares the cost of litigation with the cost of purchase - sometimes buying is the rational answer, although that remains the client's call.
Claim and interim relief
Two remedies are pleaded together: an order prohibiting use and an order transferring the domain (or cancelling the registration). Interim relief is critical - blocking transfer of the domain and any change of registrant - because otherwise the name is "sold" to a new holder while the case runs and the proceedings restart from scratch.
Enforcement and prevention
After judgment the domain moves through the registrar; the lawyer follows the actual transfer and the renewal calendar. Then comes prevention: registering the main zones and the likeliest misspellings, plus monitoring new registrations that contain the brand name.
The three elements a domain case rests on
The first is similarity. The domain must reproduce your brand or resemble it closely enough to confuse a user: a hyphen inserted, one letter changed, a plural form, a different zone. Proof is straightforward where the trademark is registered; where it is not, the right has to be built on the company name, on acquired reputation or on unfair competition rules, which is considerably harder.
The second is the absence of a legitimate interest on the respondent's side. The question is posed like this: does the registrant have a reason of their own for this name - their company, their product, their surname, a real website that has been running for years? An empty page, a redirect to a competitor, a page of advertising banners or a sale listing all point away from a legitimate interest.
The third is bad faith. This is the most contested element and therefore the one built most carefully: registration after the brand became known, an offer to sell at a price plainly above costs, warehousing of similar names in bulk, a former employment or contractual link with the claimant, diversion of a competitor's traffic. In international zones UDRP requires all three criteria to be met at once; the logic before a Georgian court is the same, although it is formally pleaded on trademark rights and unfair competition.
The legal nature of a domain
- A domain is not property
- A domain is a renewable service contract with a registrar, not a thing you own. The dispute therefore does not seek recognition of "ownership" but relies on infringement of the brand right and an obligation to transfer.
- .ge and arbitration
- The Georgian zone has no mandatory UDRP-style arbitration, so the main route is the court. That means longer timelines and makes interim relief unusually important.
- Registrant versus administrator
- Domains are often said to be "the company's" while the record in fact names a former employee or an agency. The right belongs to whoever appears in the record, which is why an audit matters before any dispute arises.
- Renewal dates
- A missed renewal is the most common way to lose a domain: released names are caught within seconds by specialist services and then offered back to the previous holder. Automatic renewal plus a monitored calendar is cheap insurance.
- Transfer lock
- As soon as a dispute opens, transfers of the domain and changes of registrant must be blocked; without that the respondent can move the name to another holder or to a registrar in another country and complicate everything.
- Consumer confusion
- Where the domain carries a site styled with your logo and customers believe they are dealing with you, the case has two dimensions: infringement of the right and misleading of consumers, which strengthens a claim for damages.
What to collect before sending the demand
- Domain data: registrant, registrar, creation and renewal dates, history of changes.
- Your title documents: the trademark certificate with its priority date, the register extract, dated materials showing use of the brand.
- Capture of the page: certified screenshots, web archive snapshots, DNS and hosting records.
- Any communication with the registrant, especially an offer to sell together with the price quoted.
- Contracts with the developer, agency or employee if they registered the domain, plus proof of who paid for it.
- A list of your own domains across all zones with renewal dates - an audit frequently shows that some already sit in someone else's name.
Three domain cases
The domain a former agency kept
A company commissioned its website from a digital agency, which registered the domain in its own name. When the relationship ended the agency demanded a settlement payment for handing the name over, an amount that appeared nowhere in the contract. The lawyer used the order documents and invoices to establish that the domain had been registered on the client's instructions and at the client's expense; after a demand letter and an application to block any transfer, the domain was handed over before the hearing.
A brand name listed for sale
The owner of a registered mark found that the page at its own name displayed "domain for sale" with a five-figure price. The lawyer preserved the page, kept the correspondence in which the holder quoted the figure, and filed for an injunction and transfer; it also helped that dozens of other brands' domains sat with the same person. The matter settled and the name came across.
One letter off, and payments going astray
Customers of an online shop transferred money to an identical site hosted on a domain that differed by a single letter. The lawyer arranged urgent capture of the page, approached the host and the registrar, obtained interim relief suspending the site, reported the fraud to law enforcement and warned customers in parallel. The site went down, and the company afterwards protected itself by registering a portfolio of similar spellings.
Questions about domain disputes
Someone else holds the domain with my brand name. Does it become mine automatically because my mark is registered?
No. Registration gives you the right to demand it, but the domain does not move on its own - you need either the registrant's voluntary consent or a decision. That is why every case begins with a demand letter: a good-faith holder will often agree, while with a professional squatter a dispute is unavoidable.
How fast is a domain dispute in the .ge zone?
The Georgian zone has no special fast-track arbitration, so the court route follows ordinary civil timelines and runs from several months to over a year. Two parallel steps therefore make sense: interim relief so the name cannot be moved while the case runs, and a temporary alternative domain so the business is not held hostage by the proceedings.
Should I simply buy the domain?
Often yes, where the price is below the cost and delay of litigation and the holder will genuinely transfer. The lawyer then structures the transaction so payment is tied to the actual transfer and the contract includes a warranty that the same person claims nothing over other similar names. One warning: paying once sometimes prompts the same group to register fresh variants.
What can I do about a .com domain?
International zones operate a mandatory administrative procedure where the complaint is filed with an accredited provider and a panel decides within a few months. All three criteria have to be shown together: similarity, no legitimate interest on the respondent's side, and registration and use in bad faith. If you win, the domain is transferred straight to you with no court involved.
How do I protect myself for the future?
Before or alongside the trademark filing, take the main zones and the most likely misspellings, register every domain to the company rather than to an employee or agency, switch on automatic renewal and set a transfer lock at registrar level. That spend is a small fraction of what a dispute costs.
Lawyers for domain matters
Timing decides domain cases: page content disappears and registrants change. The coordinator will connect you within 15 minutes to a lawyer who has run domain and brand disputes before.
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Is the domain with your name registered to someone else?
In a free consultation the lawyer will check who the registrant is, how strong your claim to the name really is, and which route is quicker - a demand letter, a purchase or a claim with interim relief. The coordinator calls you back within 15 minutes.