registering unregistered domain

[boobesque]

i know of a domain that unregisters soon and i would like to register it as my own. i understand that the current registered owner has first dibs on it but the site hasnt been maintained since 2004, so im sure they are dead or in prison or something. say if the registration ran out on 16th july. when would i be able to register? and would i just register it as i would any other unused domain name?

thanks

[fo3nix]

You could always use a service such as this:
http://registerfly.com/dropfly/

[kempie]

If I assume the domain is a .uk then the registry is maintained by Nominet.

Their procedure for when a domain is not renewed is:

7 days after expiration an invoice is sent to the owner who then has 30 days from date of invoice to renew after which the domain is suspended for a further 60 days before being cancelled.

Thus 97 days after failure to renew, the domain is available for re-registration by anybody else.

http://www.nominet.org.uk/registrants/maintain/renew/

Haven't looked at other TLDs to see if there is any difference in the procedure.