Man who tried to sell ‘Lambo.com’ to Lamborghini for a world record price gets nothing in return

The former owner of “lambo.com” will likely join the pantheon of people who have messed the bag badly. After purchasing the domain Lambo.com for $10,000 in 2018, Richard Blair decided it was time to cash in on his investment and apparently found himself in a great place to make a nice margin. He then decided to play chicken with one of the most litigious types in the world: an Italian car company.

Now domains can vary greatly in price. From a few dollars to eight figures. What do you think a healthy return would look like after an initial investment of €10,000? $100,000? $250,000? A million dollars wouldn’t be out of the world, even if it is pricey. Well, Blair apparently decided that these profit margins were for the losers and eventually Spinto Veloce raised the price to a whopping $75 million, according to TechRadar. For context, ‘Chat.com’ sold for $15.5 million in 2023, so it’s not out of the question that Blair makes eight figures. Blair apparently looked at the domain market, saw some record sales and thought he could “negotiate.” But as he would soon learn, there is a fine line between aggressive negotiation and extortion.

This is where the story goes from standard domain squatting to comedy gold. When you buy a domain that clearly references a trademark or intellectual property (IP), you usually need a legitimate reason to own it. Let’s be honest: “Lambo” essentially means one thing to the entire world: Lamborghini, the automaker that makes wedge-shaped sound machines for people who hate their neighbors. Blair’s legal strategy was to convince the courts that he was actually ‘Lambo’. According to arbitration documents, he claimed the nickname was a play on “Lamb,” even more bizarrely, derived from the phrase “Lamb of extraordinary general aptitude and intelligence.” Okay then.

The problem with Blair’s defense was the timing. Records showed that Blair didn’t start calling himself “Lambo,” especially online. until after he bought the domain name. In the end, no one bought what he was trying to sell. After an arbitration board decided that Blair had no right to the name, the case went to court. A district court ultimately ruled that Blair’s actions were in violation all common sense and legal sense and so named his practice of incremental price increases indirect extortion. The final verdict was that Blair had no rights to the name, was not acting in good faith, and had to surrender the domain to Lamborghini… ouch.

So if you’re keeping score, he almost certainly lost a small fortune in legal fees fighting a major corporation in federal court. He lost the initial $10,000 investment. And he lost the domain. Maybe Mr. Blair would be better off putting that money into one of these enthusiast cars. This case sets a direct precedent for domain squatters who think they can hide behind thin veils of well-known brands. Sure, “lambo” could refer to a sheep, but let’s be honest: if you price it at $75 million, you’re not going to sell it to sheep farmers. So if you want to buy “rarri.com” for $300,000 and make a profit by selling it to Ferrari, think again.