Getting ownership of a domain from an out-of-business company
I wish to have a specific domain. It is currently in use by a canadian corporation. The domain is a US .com address. (No ".ca") The web site was last updated in 2007 but the domain is still active (e-mail not returned as undeliverable). The company appears to have gone out of business.
How can I obtain this domain for my use in the US.
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ASKED:
November 15, 2012 4:18 PM
UPDATED:
November 15, 2012 4:52 PM
Answer Wiki:
You basically have two options.
1. Get in contact with someone at that company and purchase the domain from them.
2. Wait for the domain name registration to expire (which could take years) and then purchase it.
.com addresses aren't specific to the US. Anyone can have a .com/.net/.org domain name.
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Denny Cherry 
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Michael Tidmarsh 11,405 pts. ,
bizguru 5 pts.
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Michael Tidmarsh 11,405 pts. ,
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Welcome to ITKE, bizguru! Have you tried contacting the corporation or someone within the organization? I think that would be a good first step in trying to acquire the domain.
The answer from mrdenny is essentially right on. About the only opening that might be available would be under the Anticybersquatting act or some form of bad faith trademark infringement or similar. In the absence of any legal issue, all you can do for immediate acquisition is to get them to turn it over to you, i.e., “buy” it from them, if it hasn’t expired. And also true — the .COM domain is not “US”. — Tom