Tucows is starting a service to auction off expired domain names, but with an escape hatch to ensure that the former holders of the expired domains don’t get scr0d.
Yet, Tucows plans to protect the previous registrant’s existing rights because even if a URL enters the auction, the old registrant still has a window of opportunity to retain the name under the system. Noss said Tucows plans to “hold the name in escrow for another 30 days” on top of a period of “anywhere from one to 45 days” that a former registrant has to reclaim their domain name after expiry, depending on which registrar they’re dealing with.