I owned two popular websites that I created over 20 years ago. Both providing free, original content. After a few years, I placed ads on those sites to cover my hosting expenses.

Several years ago, my domains weren't auto-renewed (outdated card on file with each registrar). Due to circumstances out of my control, I wasn't available to update my billing info, and each domain was eventually registered by different people. One registrant redirected the more popular site (with tons of backlinks) to an ad-driven landing page. The other registrant simply left the domain a parked page.

The ad-driven page (which is now down) was run by someone I couldn't find any contact info for. Private registration. The parked page temporarily had had public whois info, I was able to contact the registrant. I was informed that they had planned on using the domain to promote a business that they ultimately didn't start. Yet for whatever reason, they weren't interested in selling me the domain name. So to this day, it has been nothing more than a parked page, and that's possibly all it will remain. And again, I have zero means of figuring out who owns the other domain, attempts to request contact via their registrar (through a request form) was never responded to.

Both sites were a huge part of my life. In theory I could start all over with new domain names. But I'd lose all the backlinks that still exist. I'd lose the name recognition. Even worse, I lost access to many social media and other accounts that I used site email addresses for. I'm willing to spend a significant amount of money to buy them back. But one registrant is unknown,the other stopped replying to my emails years ago.

1. Do I have any realistic means of getting them back, under the circumstances?

2. Neither domain name relates to a U.S. federal trademark. Even if they were, the domains aren't being used "in bad faith." If I registered the wording used in either domain name as a federal trademark, does that give me any edge in at least getting the owners into some form of arbitration to at least discuss me buying them? Or simply claiming them, and then finding a way to fairly reimburse both owners after the domain changed hands?

When I contacted attorneys specializing in internet law on behalf of friends for domains they lost, the legal fees they quoted were too significant.And that was 10, 15 years ago. I'm guessing all they could do anyway, is suggest arbitration (with no guarantee they could even arrange a dialogue). So I don't know if it would even help to contact an attorney.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.