Update: changes affecting how to recover a .us domain after a failed…

Update: changes affecting how to recover a .us domain after a failed. UDRP and ccTLD domain recovery and defense across .us. Email the firm to assess your case.

A buy-back negotiation collapses. The registrant refuses your final offer, or worse, raises the price. You hold a registered trademark and a clear paper trail showing bad faith. What route remains open for a .us domain?

To recover a .us domain after a failed buy-back negotiation, the governing procedure is the usDRP – the .us Dispute Resolution Policy, which operates alongside the UDRP framework and applies the same three-element test under Paragraph 4(a): confusing similarity to your mark, no legitimate interest, and registration and use in bad faith. The respondent has 20 days to file a response once the case commences, and a standard proceeding typically concludes within roughly two months. The only remedies are transfer or cancellation.

This alert covers what applies in .us, what the failed negotiation means for your evidence, and what to do next.

What changed?

Practitioners and brand owners pursuing .us recovery should be aware that the usDRP framework continues to track the core UDRP structure, but registry-level administration and eligibility rules for .us have seen incremental updates affecting how the procedure is initiated and how registrant identity is verified. The most practical effect: a buy-back demand or inflated resale offer made by the registrant now serves as documented bad-faith evidence under Paragraph 4(b), not merely a negotiating footnote. Panels have consistently held that offering a domain for sale to the mark owner at a price exceeding out-of-pocket costs is a recognized bad-faith indicator. A failed negotiation, properly documented, can sharpen – not weaken – a usDRP complaint.

What does that mean for how you build the record? Every email, every platform message, and every asking price the registrant quoted should be preserved as an exhibit.

Who is affected?

Brand owners with US trademark rights who have tried and failed to purchase a .us domain privately are the primary audience. The .us zone requires a US nexus for registrants, which means the pool of respondents is more limited than in .com – but abusive registrations do occur, particularly by US-based domain investors targeting brand names. Companies that recently concluded unsuccessful negotiations without filing a complaint promptly are especially exposed: delay in filing does not forfeit your rights under the usDRP, but it can complicate the bad-faith timeline if the respondent later argues you acquiesced.

Registrants holding .us domains in good faith are also affected. A brand owner armed with a documented buy-back refusal may file quickly. Legitimate registrants should be ready to demonstrate their independent basis for the registration well before a 20-day response window opens.

If a buy-back negotiation for your .us domain has broken down, the evidence you already have may be enough to open a complaint immediately. For an assessment of your domain dispute, contact info@cognomenlaw.com.

What should you do now?

Three steps apply for any brand owner at this stage. First, organize the buy-back documentation – timestamped messages, asking prices, any intermediary correspondence – before a filing is prepared. Second, verify that your trademark registration predates the .us domain registration, or that the registrant had constructive notice of your mark at the time of registration; this goes directly to the bad-faith element under Paragraph 4(a)(iii). Third, select a usDRP-accredited provider and confirm current filing fees and the panel roster before submitting.

The usDRP does not offer the same choice of forum as the UDRP. For .com disputes, complainants may file before WIPO (filing fee from USD 1,500 for a single-member panel) or the Forum; .us operates under its own designated provider structure. Confirm the current designated provider directly, as provider arrangements for the .us zone have shifted over time. If the same cybersquatter holds additional .com or new-gTLD variants of your mark, a parallel UDRP filing at WIPO or the Forum can run concurrently – all three UDRP elements apply identically in those zones.

In a recent matter (a .us domain, spring 2025), we assembled a buy-back email chain showing a five-figure demand, filed a usDRP complaint, and secured a transfer order within roughly eight weeks of commencement. The failed negotiation was the central exhibit.

To weigh usDRP against a parallel UDRP action for your case, email info@cognomenlaw.com.

Related at COGNOMEN

• UDRP domain recovery – full service overview for gTLD complainants
• Recovering a domain from a serial cybersquatter across multiple zones
• URS suspension for new-gTLD domains – faster remedy, different standard