Interesting stuff, I still hadn't received a reply so I just tried them again and it turns out they're just a broker for the domain and someone else owns it. I have to contact them using the contact form on the site and they'll send me a quote.
I was just about to say that, but I didn't want to offend you.
They're a domain broker, someone else owns it. And 90% of the time, you'd have to contact them via contact form/e-mail... but they should be able to respond to your phone call, too.
Obviously it's a new company and so we haven't really established ourselves yet, however the company will be UK registered shortly with a view of distributing to stores in the UK. Initially just locally, with a view to move nationally if it's successful, however we really don't know if it will grow into a reasonable sized business or not so we're not in a position to spend thousands on a domain at this point.
There is no "if" with entrepreneur(s). If you want to be a valuable company, you have to acquire the top domain name - in Klout's case that rings true. His company is worthless if his domain name doesn't have .com in it. If you spend a lot of money on a domain name, the investor(s) of your company see it more than valuable, it's an investment opportunity, if your company is set up right.
What it boils down to is: .com or forget about having a e-commerce site. That's what it boils down to. Investors want to see that you're
freakin' serious about it. It being the company, the brand, the whole shebang.
I guess we could apply for a trademark, but that's another couple of hundred quid. And even then would a UK trademark be enforceable if it's a .com domain is registered by a US company?
No harm in just contacting the chap and going from there though? It's not like they would spend the extra money or time trademarking it considering it's pretty random.
Go ahead and contact the chap first, then go from there. If that doesn't work, get that trademark done, and you're in control.
DMCA prohibits squatters, in fact... ModernWarfare3.com was in a middle of a dispute, and Activision was able to grab the name before the owner continued to tarnish the name by directing it to Battlefield 3 sites. The owner did it again with ModernWarfare4.com just recently, and I think Activision is too slow to react. I hate those jerks.