EDINBURGH, February 29, 2008  –  In what will be seen as refreshing news for the internet community, a ‘cyber squatter’ has not only relinquished a domain name he has been sitting on for four years, but has also been refused payment of the $12,000 fee he was demanding for it by the official escrow-holding intermediaries.

Edinburgh-based Fitlads.net, a successful gay dating site with over 200,000 members, is the second largest gay website in the UK, and has spent over 4 years trying to obtain the domain fitlads.com.

Like many companies, Fitlads found to their dismay that an individual had registered the domain name with intent to profit from the goodwill of the trademark belonging to fitlads.net – known as ‘cyber squatting’.

The cyber squatter then offered to sell fitlads.com to fitlads.net, owners of the original trademark contained within the name, at a vastly over-inflated price.

However, the official escrow holders of the fee paid into a safe account by Fitlads.net didn’t receive adequate proof from the cyber squatter that they actually owned the title. They subsequently refused to authorise payment, returning the £6,000 they held on Fitlads.net’s behalf back to the company.

When Fitlads.net contacted the ‘squatter’ to seek further clarification regarding transfer of the name, the ‘squatter’ suddenly decided to simply transfer the domain name to Fitlads.

"Please be advised that from time to time, Internet REIT Inc acquires domain names through portfolio acquisitions,” the ‘squatter said.

“We do not target any particular domain names nor seek to interfere or infringe on any third-party rights.  It is our policy to transfer a domain name to any person that, in our reasonable opinion, has a legitimate claim to that domain.  Based upon the information provided to us, we have voluntarily transferred the subject domain name to a new account with our registrar free of charge to you.”

Describing cyber squatters as “one of the scourges of the world wide web, Joseph Hill, a director of Fitlads.net, was overjoyed.

“[Cyber squatters] constantly seek to profit from something they have no right to, swapping and trading large portfolios of domain names between them,” he said.

“We were originally being asked for £30,000 to purchase the fitlads.com domain name from them.  However, we initiated our purchase through official channels, and the escrow agent we used for security purposes quickly established that the squatter appeared to have no proof that they actually owned the domain name they were trying to re-sell us.

“This outcome has to be welcomed by businesses with unique or trademarked domain names, and my message to anyone contemplating striking back at these opportunists is to research carefully and engage professional intermediaries before even contemplating the handing over of any cash.”

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Posted: 29 February 2008 at 17:30 (UK time)