Can I buy a domain name if it is already taken ?

He’s making the payments, you have to talk to him. Make up a new site name.

You can look it up on http://www.whois.net/. That should give you an idea of the status.

You can only buy it by negotiating with the current owner. If he doesn’t renew in 2015 you can then buy it yourself.

Negotiate with the current owner, await domain’s expiration, or buy a domain with a similar name but in another TLD, i.e. example.com instead of example.org or such.

If the owner lets you buy it, yes. It’s like asking, “There’s a house I want, but someone already lives in it. Can I buy it and move in?”

@tlm notes the one good possibility if the current owner is being unmovable. “await domain’s expiration” You can put a request to jump on the domain name if it doesn’t get renewed promptly next time it is up for renewal.
But you would count on him tripping up on the renewal and waiting until then to find out.

Probably the best approach is a new name, or that name under another TLD as otherwise suggested.

Not really. If you buy an existing domain name, you’ll surely pay much more than it’s worth. Best to use your creativity to invent your own name and register it for $10.

@dabbler: Yeah, but doing that is a completely asshole move. People have done that to me. Specifically, some dick in Thailand. She won’t be the only one waiting either necessarily.

http://www.ehow.com/how_8038849_domain-name-already-taken.html

Maybe this article will help you.

If you go to the domain name you wish to choose, and its taken, it is that, taken. Alter your name, maybe take out vowels, or use a .net

Welcome on Fluther. Enjoy your stay.

You check up when the contract expires. Be sure to bid a lot to be sure to get it when it’s gonna be up for a bid.

@asmonet Yes, I’ll agree it’s a completely asshole move to squat on a potential expiration. But the situation sounds like war between former sweethearts so all bets are off.
It’s not clear that he’s using the web site, benefiting from it, and he may be just sitting on it to confound @partyrock. If that’s the case he deserves no better. That’s the only reason I’d suggest that.

And it’s probably more trouble than it’s worth to wait for the possibility that he’ll forget to renew the registration.