The domain name I want is in "clienthold"; am I likely to be able to get this name?

Before I begin, I guess this may not be strictly programming related but I think it's definitely related to web programming.

I'm after a domain for a startup project and I notice that it is currently on "clientHold" registrar status. From the research I've done this suggests that it is in dispute either due to an ownership dispute, a payment dispute or someone has suggested the domain is used by spammers/scammers. The whois data seems similar to other spammer details I've seen posted, and at the very least is largely anonymous.

The domain is registed with XIN NET who appear to be notorious for supporting spammer domains. I'd love to just contact the registrar but their site copyright is 2006 and I can't find any appropriate contact path. Even then, they are probably too large to actually deal with and my Chinese skills are limited to Google Translate.

One thing to note is that the expiry date for the domain isn't for a few months.

My questions are:

• Is there any rule on how long a domain can be held in clientHold status?
• Does the "last updated" whois data indicate when the domain was initially put on clientHold?
• If the site is put up for deletion, will it enter a pending deletion status for some time or is it likely to just drop instantly?

Any details on how this stuff works would be appreciated.

your best bet if you really want it is to use a backordering system like godaddy has. If after a few months it still hasnt become available, you can move your backorder to another domain.

In my expirience, rarely will you ever see a domain in this status become available.