OFT clamps down on domain name scheme

January 2005

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has clamped down on an individual who it says used misleading sales tactics to persuade companies to register a new domain name, following numerous complaints from businesses.

The OFT said on Wednesday that businesses had been told that a third party was interested in registering a domain name similar to their own business name, and that they had a short period of time to register the name before it was claimed by the third party.

The person behind this activity, Adam Ripley, was unable to provide evidence that these third parties existed and has agreed to cease the practice. The OFT claimed that Ripley was behind a number of domain name registration businesses, including Solus Online Ltd, ISIS Online Ltd, Select Registrations and European Domain Bureau.

John Vickers, chairman of the OFT, said businesses should not allow themselves to be coerced to purchase domain names.