traverselegal - December 27, 2011 - Cybersquatting Basics, Cybersquatting Law
Commonly known as domain squatting, the definition of cybersquatting is different under the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA), the Uniform Domain Resolution Policy (UDRP) and Uniform Rapid Suspension System (URS).
Essentially, it is the registration, use or attempts to sell a domain name with bad faith intent to profit from the goodwill of a trademark belonging to another. In many cases, the cybersquatter offers to sell the domain to the trademark holder at an inflated price.
You can keep others from registering and using your trademark in their domain name using a variety of techniques, such as threat letters, UDRP arbitration and the URS system for new gTLDs. In serious cases of infringement, you can bring an ACPA lawsuit in federal court to enforce your trademark rights.
Typosquatting relies on typographical errors made by Internet users when inputting a web address into the web browser, such as intentionally swapping an “o” for a “p” in the domain name. Other common typosquatting practices include using the plural of the domain, a common misspelling or a different top level domain such as .org or .net.
If you would like to know more about cybersquatting and typosquatting, contact one of our internet lawyers today.
