Cybersquatting meaning

This Practice Note offers an introduction to cybersquatting. It involves registering a domain name that incorporates another business’s trade mark with the purpose (or consequence) of taking unfair advantage of that mark. It also encompasses typosquatting, being the registration of a domain name featuring a misspelt version of another party’s trade mark. There are several avenues to pursue action against cybersquatters, including Nominet’s Dispute Resolution Service (DRS) and the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP)... What is cybersquatting? Also referred to as domain name squatting, it is the bad-faith registration of a domain name that matches or is confusingly similar to a trade mark or name, with the intention of profiting from the goodwill attached to that mark or name. The practice exploits the trade marks of businesses, individuals, or other entities, aiming to secure commercial benefit for the ‘squatter’ and/or to interfere with legitimate activities... Evolution and key characteristics of cybersquatting The phenomenon took hold in the 1990s during the early phase of internet...

This Practice Note offers an overview of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and explores practical routes for safeguarding brands, including through domain and trade mark protection strategies online. An introduction to ICANN ICANN administers the domain name system which, for many years, previously comprised only roughly 20 generic top-level domains (gTLDs) such as .com, .biz and .net. After the launch of ICANN’s New Generic Top Level Domain Name Programme, over 1,200 additional gTLDs were rolled out from late 2013 onwards in all. That cohort featured .xyz, .top, .loan and .club, alongside certain well-known brands, eg .bmw and .hotmail. The new gTLDs are open to general public registration (eg company.inc). As a result, available domain endings expanded by more than 1,200; for instance, ‘amazon’ might be secured as amazon.shop, amazon.books, amazon.music and similar options. Adoption of the various new gTLDs is, overall, rising quickly—in aggregate, more than 37.8 million domain name registrations under the new gTLDs had been recorded by the close of the first...

This Practice Note sets out an overview of the URS, a rights protection mechanism closely modelled on, yet distinct from, the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) and elements of the .uk Nominet Dispute Resolution Service (DRS). The URS provides a fast‑track, lower‑cost route for the most clear‑cut instances of cybersquatting. This Practice Note does not cover the UDRP or the DRS. For more on those, see the following Practice Notes: Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) process Preparing a UDRP complaint—before you start Nominet dispute resolution service (DRS) Application and purpose of the URS The URS applies to: all new generic Top Level Domain Names (new gTLDs) some of the so‑called legacy gTLDs (namely .asia, .biz, .cat, .info, .jobs, .mobi, .museum, .org, .pro, .tel, .travel, .xxx) some country code top level domains (eg .pw for Micronesia) The URS was adopted in 2013 as part of a suite of strengthened rights...