My fellow flyers:

I wanted to provide the list an update on powerchutes.com. Last week the site went down for what we at first thought was an attack from outside the US. (we have successfully, for the most part, defended the site from false classifieds, some of which were coming from Russia and the Ukraine for the past two years) we even helped one guy in NY convicted of fraud.

We discovered on Friday that the domain name had been placed on auction and sold to a fellow in CA. I was never notified of the pending sale or change in domain name registration until it was too late. You are supposed to be notified by E-mail and regular mail. The domain was sold and transferred really before I knew it. This morning the domain registration company admitted it may have made a mistake and they are looking into the matter.

I called the guy who got the domain name and it appears he may be a cyber squatter. He sits around waiting for someone to not renew a name or he slips in somehow and grabs domain names for resale. It appears he has several internet companies that he moves back and forth with. He told me he has already sold the name to another company that owns the trademark powerchutes. He also said the powerchutes.com has been infringing this trademark for years. (I don't recall getting any documentation for any company asking about trademarks) I did call the legal department for two companies I thought may be involved but both said they weren't aware of any purchase from this fellow or any discussion with him.

He has refused to tell me who the company is. I suspect he won't tell me so I don't call them and spoil the deal. I suspect he either still has the name or may have a deal in the works. He called me back this afternoon telling me not to pursue this as this unnamed company has been mad at me for years about using powerchutes and will sue me. I told him I would gladly go before a judge to present my case. He hung up.

In any case I intend to pursue a formal dispute claim with ICANN and file a UDRP through my attorney. There is a formal process for this type of thing. (who knew? I didn't) I am told there is a very good chance I will prevail due to the history of the domain and the mistake by the registration agent. This possible outcome could make the value of the domain worthless as it would be returned to the previous owner. Any person or company who bought the domain name could loose it without compensation.(if I understand the process)

The problem is this can take time to work through the process. I have made arrangements to get the original site up and running through a new domain address so that the classified ads will be available and back online. I will post info on that later this week.

If you are approached by someone selling the powerchutes.com domain name use caution as you may be buying something that has no value long term.

As most of you know powerchutes.com is a free site. I cover the costs of hosting the site and even have a couple college kids help maintain it.(I pay them of course) There is zero revenue from the site as I charge for nothing. That includes classified ads, banner ads, etc.. zip nothing. I have even turned down several offers to sell the site because the buyer was going to charge for classified ads. I just didn't think that was right. The good thing is only the domain name is in question. We still have all the site and classified info. (which I know needs updating)

I must admit I am quite disappointed with this whole thing so far. I guess you just can't do good things without being taken advantage of. Really disappointing

If anyone has any good ideas or may be able to help please E-mail me off list at jyonkin@epix.net My apologies for allowing this to happen. It is my fault and being too busy with my real job is no excuse. I have let many fellow flyers down and will try my best to correct the situation.

Sincerely,

John Yonkin