Cybersquatting (also known as domain squatting), according to the United States federal law known as the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, is registering, trafficking in, or using a domain name with bad faith intent to profit from the goodwill of a trademark belonging to someone else. Definition by Wikipedia.org.
Please, don’t be a cyber squatter. This is what makes our industry look bad. I know many domainers, myself included, who accidently wind up purchasing domains that are trademarked, because there are some that are not as obvious as others. I’m merely saying that as a whole, we should not make it a normal practice to knowingly register names with trademarks in them.
The following is a guest post by Sam Silverman of DNUnderground.com.
With an increasing number of trademark infringement cases coming up in the domain industry, it’s important to know when a domain name could potentially cause you trouble (due to trademark infringement). This poses the question: where exactly should a person look to find registered trademarks before buying a domain or starting any type of business?
There are two websites that I am familiar with using for searching for trademarks.
Valuate.com
I am very impressed with this tool. It’s very easy to use whether you’re searching for one or many domain names, which is one of the best features. I have yet to see a site offer a search service that allows you to perform a trademark search on multiple domains all at once. This is a great service to use, especially for those of you who own and invest in a lot of domain names. Perform a search by clicking on this link.
USPTO.gov
This one has a very user-friendly platform, but you need to enter one domain at a time, which can get tedious if you have a lot of domain names you are looking up. I highly recommend this site though, because it is a government website. Basically you’re pretty much guaranteed a high level of accuracy. Perform a search by clicking on this link.
I hope that by using these tools, many of us can avoid getting ourselves into trademark infringement disputes. It’ll not only save you time, but it’ll save you money and in this economy we need every last penny we can get. So why not use these free tools before making a domain investment or renewing that domain name you haven’t developed and aren’t sure whether it’s worth renewing? It can only help.
Unfortunately the terms “domain squatter” and “cybersquatter” are often used to refer to individuals who register domains and park them, an activity common among domainers. Just search Twitter for “domain squatter,” “domain squatters,” & “cybersquatter” to see what I mean. We need to change the negative perception of our industry as one where parked domains always come with ridiculous prices attached them. Registering non-trademarked domains with commercial resale value is a legitimate activity but obviously any business doesn’t stay in business long if its prices are not competitive.
Patrick,
This is a Wikipedia issue I would like to point out since you referenced them.
Wikipedia has had a group of editors on a rampage to rename domainers to cybersquatters. I caught them last year and tried along with another reputable domainer to reedit the articles thinking they had been vandalized. Domainer was redired to Cybersquatter !!
Our changes were immediately changed back by an editor. After the other domainer and myself complained “domainer” was removed from the cybersquatter redir and send to “Domain Investing” where they continued to try to lower our definition to cybersquatter. (yes a name parker is considered cybersquatting to that crowd)
The other domainer and I mounted a campaign that was thwarted because the editor that was fighting us managed to get both of use thrown Wikipedia. They said we represented the same point of view therefore we must be the same person and that violates rules. (What!!!) We got reinstated but I gave up.
Wikipedia is an open encyclopedia and who else to define domainer other than a group of domainers. That point of view is not allowed on Wikipedia in that category. Someone, not a domainer but a very bitter person, has control of our area on Wikipedia.
I contribute to Wikipedia for years on many other subjects in which I am knowledgeable without any problem. But I quit after that. Wikipedia is tainted and not useful. period. I am done with them until the definition of domainer is contributed by real domainers.
Other than using Wikipedia for a reference I agree with your post.
I’ve personally know a guy, who buys domain names which are trademaked (usually about to be launched products), put adsense and then capitalize on all the sudden traffic boom to make money.
Smart!!