Rock Group Wants ThirdEyeBlind.net

Alternative rock group files UDRP to get domain name ahead of fresh album release.

Rock group Third Eye Blind has filed a UDRP claim to get the domain name ThirdEyeBlind.net. The claim was filed by lead vocalist Stephan Jenkins’ production firm. Third Eye Blind’s official web site is the short and simple 3eb.com.

So why just get around to filing the UDRP now, and why only the .net version instead of .com? I have a couple hunches.

For the timing, Third Eye Blind is getting ready to release a fresh album in February 2009. It’s been regarding 6 years since the last album was released. The fresh album, to be released by Sony, is tentatively titled Ursa Major. Although 3eb.com is a great domain name, most web users likely type-in the entire “thirdeyeblind” name when trying to find the site.

So that begs the next question, why .net and not .com? Two reasons.

First, Third Eye Blind used the domain name ThirdEyeBlind.net in the last 1990s as the band’s web site. It appears to have let the domain lapse following acquiring 3eb.com.

Second, the owner of ThirdEyeBlind.com may be cooperating with the group, whereas the owner of ThirdEyeBlind.net isn’t. ThirdEyeBlind.com used to show a DomainSponsor parking page but no longer resolves.

The owners of ThirdEyeBlind.net seem to be dodging the band by changing its whois information repeatedly. The latest whois information shows the owner is “Third Eye Blinds & Curtains” of India. This seems like a ruse to claim that the domain will be used for a firm with the same name. But the whois record has changed many times, as stated by DomainTools. It just changed to the current record between October 8 and October 24, 2008.

On September 26 the record showed Abadaba S.A. of Panama. On March 5, 2008 it showed a registrant in Marblehead, Massachusetts.

We’ll have to wait for the decision to see if these hunches are correct.