You built up a new company or developed a new product, only to find that someone else already has the domain name you would have used to establish your online presence. This is called cybersquatting and it can be a difficult and costly problem to address. An Orange County, California trademark lawyer from our firm could tell you how to proceed.

What is Cybersquatting?

It doesn’t usually cost too much to buy a domain name, so some people hope that they can buy some of them and sell them to companies that want them in the future. Of course, they want to make a profit off of this deal, so that can result in a company paying way more than they should just to have a domain of their own.

This was more common when the Internet was in its infancy and some companies did not know where commerce was headed. Cybersquatters could get the actual names of big companies and sell them back to those firms once they finally realized that having an online presence was a necessity. This still happens today though, and you need to be prepared to deal with it.

How Can I Address Cybersquatting?

The first step is to determine whether this is actually a case of cybersquatting. People buy domain names all the time, and this person who owns the domain that you want could have bought it for a legitimate reason. Reach out and see if they are actually using it or if they want to give it up. Sometimes just buying a domain name from someone is the cheapest method of handling things.

If this person does not want to give up the domain and you believe that they are cybersquatting, you’re going to have to prove that. You usually have two options. You can sue under the provisions of the ACPA, or the Anticybersquating Consumer Protection Act. You can also use an international arbitration system, which is often faster and could cost you less money. This system is called the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN.

What Do I Need to Address a Domain Conflict?

No matter which method you use, you’re going to have to make your case. If you sue under the ACPA, you should be prepared to show that:

  • The person who registered the domain just wanted to profit from it
  • The domain name is identical or confusingly similar to your trademark
  • Your trademark was established at the time that the domain was created
  • Your trademark is protected under federal intellectual property laws

If you win, the domain is transferred to you and you could be owed damages by the cybersquatter. An ICANN case functions in a similar fashion. You must show that:

  • The owner of the domain has no rights or legitimate interests in this domain name
  • The domain name is being used in bad faith
  • The domain name is identical or nearly identical to your trademark

If you can make your case, the domain name could be given to you.

Contact Our Attorneys

Making your case and ending a cybersquatting problem isn’t easy, but our attorneys can help. So contact Burns Patent Law and tell us all about your IP-related woes. We will do everything that we can to help you build a case.