No, that's exactly what's going on. It's called "cybersquatting". They're hoping for precisely what you suspect they're hoping for: that you'll want the domain name badly enough to pay them for it. It's a pretty obnoxious thing to do, in my opinion.

This is a bit off tangent, but I just talked with someone who (over the phone) signed up for a satellite internet service asked for his username to be the_hisname. Since he was asking over the phone, the rep gave him the email/username theunderscorehisname.

That's theunderscorehisname.

Funny, eh?

Lanna Lee -- funny, yes. And confusing.

I thought they had made cybersquatting illegal? Maybe you want to check into this a little more, Sara. There is the outside chance that this person really is 'Sara Donati', but if not I'm almost 100% sure that if they are holding your pen name for a ransom of some sort, it's illegal. You could probably find out who the name is registered to, try to contact them, and go from there. Or, you can come up with another name. *gg*, but I'd advise you not to post them, as the unscrupulous will take advantage....

They either bought it to extort, or they bought it to take advantage of misdirected traffic. Fans would type in your name, presuming it's how you'd list yourself on the web, and then the person who's running that placeholder site benefits by (potentially) seeing those misdirected people click through onto one of the advertisers. For each click through, they get money.

This is from my sysadmin husband's trough of knowledge, not mine.

He adds: most registrars have an arbitration policy, because it's a rampant problem. So contacting a registrar to get further direction on what to do would be your next step.
No need to go the Madonna route just yet (suing the squatter for the right to use your name). But that's the next step if you get no satisfaction from the registrar.

He notes - cybersquatting isn't illegal - durned annoying for businesses and individuals alike.

Actually, see the Wikipedia article: cybersquatting is illegal in the US, but dealing with the legal system is probably less efficient than using the UDRP. For one thing, US courts don't have jurisdiction overseas.

In case you're curious, here's WHOIS information for your domain:

----snip----
Domain saradonati.com
Created: 2005-01-23 20:26:35
Expires: 2006-01-23 20:26:35
Nameservers:
ns2.rentalqueue.com
ns1.rentalqueue.com

Owner's Contact Information:
Manila Industries, Inc.
3843 S. Bristol St. #628
Santa Ana, CA 92704
Phone: 949-743-1697
Email: [email protected]
US

Administrative and Technical Contact Information:
Manila Industries, Inc.
3843 S. Bristol St. #628
Santa Ana, CA 92704
Phone: 949-743-1697
Email: [email protected]
US
----snip----

Don't bother contacting "Manila Industries"; this is most likely a front. Examining the WHOIS for rentalqueue.com (the name server listed above) yields:

----snip----
Domain: rentalqueue.com

Registrant
Manilla Industries
Manilla Industries
[email protected]
Attn: 7713 - 145 3522 2nd Floor Rm 2 AL 11 B
Lard Prao Road, Klongchan Bangkapi, Bangkok 10240 TH

Administrative
Manilla Industries
Manilla Industries
[email protected]
Attn 7713 - 145 3522 2nd Floor Rm 2 AL 11 B
Lard Prao Road Klongchan Bangkapi, Bangkok 10240 TH

Billing
Manilla Industries
Manilla Industries
[email protected]
Attn 7713 - 145 3522 2nd Floor Rm 2 AL 11 B
Lard Prao Road Klongchan Bangkapi, Bangkok 10240 TH

Technical
Manilla Industries
Manilla Industries
[email protected]
Attn 7713 - 145 3522 2nd Floor Rm 2 AL 11 B
Lard Prao Road Klongchan Bangkapi, Bangkok 10240 TH

Record created on July 08, 2004
Record last updated on March 31, 2005
Record expires on July 08, 2007

Domain Name Servers:
NS1.RENTALQUEUE.COM
NS2.RENTALQUEUE.COM
----snip----

Cog -- so what do I do with all this information? What would you do?

I once checked into registering my name (but not that seriously, for those same Catholic school reasons that you cite) -- and it's taken. And not by someone who shares my name. I went to see what they wanted for it: $761.00.

Karen -- I miss this somehow, and now I've got to ask: did they explain to you how they came to that figure?

I've decided not to pursue saradonati.com -- just not worth the hassle.

I am an IP (intellectual property) attorney currently investigating Manila Industries on behalf of a client whose trademark was recently registered as a domain name by this cybersquatter. I would appreciate hearing from anyone (including Ms. Donati) who has had dealings with Manila Industries.

As some of you may know, an offer to sell a domain name for a value in excess of the cost of registration (e.g. $761) may be used as evidence of "bad faith" in a UDRP proceeding.

Best regards, Dennis

I've e'd Dennis privately, to give him whatever info he needs.

Dennis,
It seems that I now have run into manila industries. A company was suppose registar our domain name but didn't and on Nov 15 budgetnames.com registered it, and it looks like now manila industries has purchased it.

this manila company stole my domain also!

please send me an email what to do?!!!!!

How can I get my url back??????
any help would be appriciated.

Manila Industries has struck again!

They have registered www.kellerpackagingengineeringgroup.com

When you go there there are a number of search selections available with the heading "what you need, when you want it"

Any suggetions on how to take them to task would be appreciated

They got my domain too. They registered it a year ago, and have just renewed it. :(

You should email the lawyer who posted above (Dennis is his name; click on his name for his email), give him the details.

My domain was snagged as well. I was unable to get Dennis McCooe's email address. Can someone foward me his email.

My domain that i'm interested has been snagged as well from this company Manila industries.
How do i get a hold of this person named Dennis McCooe's email?
The domain I'm interested in is www.scrapbookaddictions.com
Its been registered to the same company as what you've mentioned above named manilaindustries.

These Manila Industries people are typosquatting on a misspelling of our domain name. I would like to get Dennis's info so we can connect to pursue legal action against these people.

Here is Dennis McCooe's email:

[email protected]

I recently had a run in with Manila Industries as well. On Dec. 13 I placed a bid for a logo design on elance.com. I got several bids for the logo and I awarded the bid to 2 designer. On the same day that I awarded the logo design job and revealed the product name, the domain was registered by this Manila Industries. I was dumb, but learned a valuable lesson in business. Always secure all of your intellectual properties prior to revealing the names to anyone. They have people working on the inside somewhere. They obviously have people all over working for them. They are definitely "Super Squatters".

It is my pleasure to report success. After we filed a UDRP complaint with NAF, Manila Industries volunteered to transfer the domain name to our client.

Do not hesitate to contact me if you require assistance in dealing with Manila.

Best regards, Dennis

Dennis P. McCooe,
Blank Rome LLP,
One Logan Sq, 130 N 18th St,
Philadelphia, PA 19103

Phone: (215)569-5580 | Fax: (215)832-5580 Email: [email protected]

Manila Industries just purchased our elementry school's address but with a .com instead of .org. Now if kids enter our address wrong it goes to there site. Which has porn links.

I have the same problem with manilla Industries for my client, listed with this link. Can you pass on my details to Dennis McCooe as well as my client may wish to speak to him.

Thanks!

They just stole my name too! it was available according to whois yesterday yet today it shows as being registered to manila industries as of dec 31/05. No way! Sunday it was not.
missingnativewomen.com
What can be done about this legally