Cybersquatting in India

Spicy IP informs us that the domain gmail.co.in was squatted over by a fellow named "Chen Zhaoyang". Google ultimately got it back after filing a complaint with the "National Internet Exchange of India" (NIXI)
I never knew something like that even existed. Apparently the NIXI has a Wikipedia page as well.

Google seems to have won the arbitration but it doesn't look like they've got control of the domain yet.


Surprisingly, a WHOIS query on gmail.co.in thre up the name of "Sukumaran Pillai" based in Alabama!

Domain ID:D2507759-AFIN
Domain Name:GMAIL.CO.IN
Created On:03-May-2007 20:02:52 UTC
Last Updated On:08-May-2007 15:10:14 UTC
Expiration Date:03-May-2008 20:02:52 UTC
Sponsoring Registrar:Direct Information Pvt. Ltd. dba PublicDomainRegistry.com (R5-AFIN)
Status:CLIENT TRANSFER PROHIBITED
Status:TRANSFER PROHIBITED
Registrant ID:DI_6367931
Registrant Name:Sukumaran Pillai
Registrant Organization:N/A
Registrant Street1:978 Henderson Rd NW
Registrant City:Auburn
Registrant State/Province:Alabama
Registrant Postal Code:36832
Registrant Country:US
Registrant Phone:+1.3170939374
Registrant Email:skumaranp@yahoo.com
Admin ID:DI_6367931
Admin Name:Sukumaran Pillai
Admin Organization:N/A
Admin Street1:978 Henderson Rd NW
Admin City:Auburn
Admin State/Province:Alabama
Admin Postal Code:36832
Admin Country:US
Admin Phone:+1.3170939374
Admin Email:skumaranp@yahoo.com
Tech ID:DI_6367931
Tech Name:Sukumaran Pillai
Tech Organization:N/A
Tech Street1:978 Henderson Rd NW
Tech City:Auburn
Tech State/Province:Alabama
Tech Postal Code:36832
Tech Country:US
Tech Phone:+1.3170939374
Tech Email:skumaranp@yahoo.com
Name Server:NS1.SEDOPARKING.COM
Name Server:NS2.SEDOPARKING.COM

Incidentally microsoft.co.in has also been squatted! Let's see what happens here.

Domain ID:D490943-AFIN
Domain Name:MICROSOFT.CO.IN
Created On:16-Feb-2005 06:40:20 UTC
Last Updated On:02-Aug-2006 09:31:44 UTC
Expiration Date:16-Feb-2008 06:40:20 UTC
Sponsoring Registrar:Direct Information Pvt. Ltd. dba PublicDomainRegistry.com (R5-AFIN)
Status:CLIENT DELETE PROHIBITED
Status:CLIENT RENEW PROHIBITED
Status:CLIENT TRANSFER PROHIBITED
Status:CLIENT UPDATE PROHIBITED
Registrant ID:DI_1138221
Registrant Name:Piyush Somani
Registrant Organization:eTechSupport.net
Registrant Street1:303, Rohan Heights, Model Colony
Registrant City:Nashik
Registrant State/Province:Maharashtra
Registrant Postal Code:IN
Registrant Country:IN
Registrant Phone:+91.9850552225
Registrant Phone Ext.:91
Registrant Email:piyush@etechsupport.net
Admin ID:DI_1138221
Admin Name:Piyush Somani
Admin Organization:eTechSupport.net
Admin Street1:303, Rohan Heights, Model Colony
Admin City:Nashik
Admin State/Province:Maharashtra
Admin Postal Code:IN
Admin Country:IN
Admin Phone:+91.9850552225
Admin Phone Ext.:91
Admin Email:piyush@etechsupport.net
Tech ID:DI_1138221
Tech Name:Piyush Somani
Tech Organization:eTechSupport.net
Tech Street1:303, Rohan Heights, Model Colony
Tech City:Nashik
Tech State/Province:Maharashtra
Tech Postal Code:IN
Tech Country:IN
Tech Phone:+91.9850552225
Tech Phone Ext.:91
Tech Email:piyush@etechsupport.net
Name Server:NS1.NETTOOLZ.NET
Name Server:NS2.NETTOOLZ.NET