In most cases, a person’s name will not constitute a protectable trademark because that person does not use his or her name as a unique identifier for goods or services he or she sells. Thus, even when a person has a unique name, he or she may not be able to protect it under traditional trademark laws.

However, this does not prevent an unscrupulous cybersquatter from registering a domain name that contains somebody else’s personal name, such as www.JohnSmith.com. Congress recognized this loophole, and sought to address it in the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act ("ACPA"). Among other things, the ACPA prevents a person from registering a domain name that consists of the personal name of another living person, or a substantially and confusingly similar name, with the specific intent of profiting from the sale of the domain name. Therefore, in order to invoke this section of the ACPA, the cybersquatter must have intended to sell the domain name for profit.

In certain cases, a personal name—such as a celebrity’s name—can acquire sufficient recognition to become a trademark. For example, it has been found that the singer Celine Dion has acquired trademark rights in her name because in addition to her fame, she uses her name in connection with a variety of goods and services. Where a person’s name has achieved trademark status, he or she can rely on the less restrictive provisions of the ACPA to obtain relief. In this case, the name’s owner need only show that the cybersquatter registered the domain name in bad faith—rather than showing that the cybersquatter sought to sell the domain name for financial gain.

People with significant name recognition should not ignore the serious harmful consequences of letting cybersquatters register domain names containing their personal names. Celebrity domain names have become big business. Such a domain name can easily bring in thousands of visitors of month, and may present content that is not in the celebrity’s best interest, such as explicit, adult-oriented content. As such, people should actively police the potential cybersquatting of their personal names.