What is Cybersquatting?

Cybersquatting is an unethical practice that some corporations or individuals will engage in as a way to benefit from the credibility of another business. The action involves registering, selling, or using a domain name that uses or closely resembles the trademarked or registered name of an existing business. Cybersquatters will often sell these domain names to businesses that have a legitimate connection to them at a marked up price.

Filing a lawsuit against the cybersquatter may be an option when your business is sustaining losses due to missed internet traffic. There are two laws that you may file under in order to seek damages for cybersquatting: the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act or the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. An experienced trademark lawyer may be able to further explain your options for protecting your business.

Your Legal Options

Cybersquatting is an unethical and often unlawful practice that infringes on your intellectual property rights. The following situations represent common factors that may violate U.S. cybersquatting regulations:

• Domain name owner has bad-faith intent to profit from trademark
• Trademark was already established before domain name was registered
• Domain name is identical or confusingly similar to trademark
• Trademark is protected under federal trademark laws

Marketing on the internet is a financially necessary part of a business. When you are unable to register an appropriate domain name due to cybersquatting, you may be eligible for compensation from the cybersquatter who is harming your business.

Contact a Plano Intellectual Property Lawyer Today

The trademark of your business is important to the profit and well-being of your company. When another individual is using your trademark to profit off of your brand through cybersquatting, you may have legal rights associated to your intellectual property. Contact the Plano domain name attorneys at Gagnon, Peacock & Vereeke, P.C., if you are concerned that another party is benefiting from your trademark. Call (214) 824-1414 to discuss your rights and legal options today.