Cybersquatting refers to the bad faith registration of a domain name containing another person’s brand or trademark in a domain name. In one variation of cybersquatting, called typosquatting, a cybersquatter registers domain names containing variants of popular trademarks. Typosquatters rely on the fact that Internet users will make typographical errors when entering domain names into their web browsers. Once a cybersquatter has registered such a domain name, the cybersquatter can place advertisements on a website linked to that domain name, and collect income any time an Internet user clicks on one of those advertisements. Alternatively, the cybersquatter may seek to sell the domain name to the legitimate trademark holder at a price many times what the cybersquatter paid for it.

Some common examples of cybersquatting include:

• The omission of the “dot” in the domain name: wwwexample.com;
• A common misspelling of the intended site: exemple.com
• A differently phrased domain name: examples.com
• A different top-level domain: example.org

In addition to registering variants of trademarks, cybersquatters also rely on the fact that trademark holders often forget to re-register their domain names. Because domain name registrations last for a fixed period of time, if the owner of a domain name does not re-register the domain name prior to expiration, then the domain name can be purchased by anybody. Cybersquatters will snatch up a domain name as it becomes available. This process is often referred to as “renewal snatching.”

Victims of cybersquatting have several options to combat cybersquatting. These options include: sending cease-and-desist letters to the cybersquatter, bringing an arbitration proceeding under ICANN’s rules (ICANN is the nonprofit organization that oversees the domain name registration system), or bringing a lawsuit in state or federal court. Whatever strategy a victim of cybersquatting elects to use, that person should not dismiss the serious effects that cybersquatting can have if left unchecked.