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Cybersquatting, also known as domain squatting, occurs when a person registers the URL of a trademarked or otherwise protected name and attempts to profit from it in different ways (e.g. sell it to the name's owner or put advertising on the domain). As you can imagine, a cybersquatter can have a negative impact on your business by diverting traffic and/or harming your reputation by putting unsavory things on the site. If you are a victim of cybersquatting, here are two ways you can handle the problem.
Contact the Domain Name Holder
Sometimes the quickest way to resolve the issue is to contact the domain name holder and ask the person to relinquish the URL. There are a couple of reasons why you'd do this. First, the person may not be a cybersquatter at all, but an ordinary person who's using the domain for legitimate purposes. The person may not know he or she is trespassing on your trademark, and you don't want to cause a PR nightmare with tyrannical demands. Simply notifying the person he or she is treading on your trademarked name and offering to pay a nominal fee for the inconvenience can go a long way toward resolving the issue.
Second, even if it is a cybersquatter, sometimes you can quickly resolve the issue by purchasing the domain if—and only if—the person asks for a reasonable price. Domain names cost around $10 to $15 per year. Cybersquatters attempt to make money by charging exorbitant rates (in the thousands of dollars) to turn over a domain name. In reality, you should have to pay more than a couple of hundred, if that. Simply emphasize how much it would cost for to mount a legal defense should you sue to get the domain and the person may become more amendable to negotiating.
File a Complaint with an Arbitration Entity
If contacting the domain name holder doesn't get you anywhere, your other option is to file a complaint with an arbitration entity. ICANN, the agency that regulates domain names, has an arbitration procedure people can use to force a squatter to turn over the trademarked name to its rightful owner.
To bring an action against the domain name holder, three factors must be true:
To begin the process of arbitration, you would need to file a complaint with ICANN. You can find more information about how to do this at their website.
For more information about this issues or other options for dealing with a domain name squatter, contact a trademark attorney at a firm like Lingbeck Law Office.
Share20 April 2017
