There are two main reasons why anyone would want to buy a domain name that is already registered to another owner. The first is because you are the owner of a trademarked business and someone is already squatting on a domain that infringes upon your business name. The second reason is because you have a brilliant idea for a website and would want to own a domain name that aptly describes whatever you are prepared to offer the world, but someone has already beaten you to it.

Let us start with the second reason, because that is why most people are in the market for domain names that have already been registered. So, jumping right into it, we have three ways you can go about buying a domain name that is already registered:

1. Direct Contact and Offer: The easiest way to buy back a domain name is to simply contact its owner and ask if it is for sale. Now, always be aware of the fact that even if there is no website attached to the domain name, it doesn’t mean it isn’t being used. For example, there are people, and businesses, that purchase domain names for email-address purposes alone. Therefore, when you make an offer, always assume that the owner is either using the address and/or is holding on to it because it has sentimental value. Add this consideration to your price offer. You can rest assured that owners of highly coveted domain names receive offers to purchase on a daily basis. So, stand out from the crowd by making them an offer that shows you have serious intentions behind it.

2. Use Domain Brokerage Features: Many domain owners like to keep their privacy and purchase a Privacy Protection Service for their domain name. This means you won’t be able to find out who the site is owned by. But, with a little help, you can find out which registrar the domain you are looking to buy is using. You can then head to its website and find out if they have a brokerage feature. If it does, it means that you can contact the domain name’s owner through the registrar. You are now set to make your offer.

3. Use 3rd Party Brokers: 3rd party brokers are professionals who make a living by brokering domain sales and acquisitions. Once you hire them, they do everything they can to acquire the domain name on your behalf. If they succeed, they transfer it into your name at your registrar of choice. The advantage here is that since they know the market, they can offer market prices to the owners (with your approval, of course) – which makes the registrants more willing to listen to the said offer. This takes a lot of hard work off of your hands.

4. Rely on Sheer Luck: If you are a lucky person, you can find out when the expiration date of the domain name is,  and if it’s any time soon, you can sit back and wait in hope that the current owner will not renew the ownership. In that case, after the domain name has been in “reserve” mode for a few weeks (to give the previous owner a chance to reclaim ownership) it is released into the general market pool. That is when you can snatch it up. On the other hand, the owner might have the domain name on sale through auction sites like eBay or Sedo. Always be on the lookout and move fast, before someone else grabs it.

Now, going back to the domain names that should rightfully belong to you, you will need to go through legal channels, which could be online mediators or real-world courts of law. For those that are in the right, there are laws that protect business owners from having domain names with their brand names being taken away from them.

For example, if you have been in business and also have been using your trade name to market your goods or services longer than the domain owner has owned the site, the law is definitely on your side. What is collectively known as the “Trademark Law” allows you, the business owner, to stop the current domain name owner from continuing to use your name.

First contact ICANN, the international organization in charge of domain name registrations and file a case under the Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy. This is a less expensive and shortcut way of getting your domain name back – it costs between $1,000 and $3,000 and about two months for everything to be settled.

If that doesn’t work, your next move is to file for a trademark infringement lawsuit. You can take the current registrant to court, and if you win, you can get your domain name and even win monetary compensation by way of incurred damages. Your final alternative is to file for a cyber squatting lawsuit under the provisions of the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act. Here too, you could win some compensation with finally being awarded your domain name.