What is cybersquatting? And why is it a BIG deal?
From protecting your trademark to censorship, the uses of domain squatting are truly multifaceted and vastly unregulated.
Domain squatting, also known as cybersquatting is the practice of buying domain names which sound important, marketable or are valuable to an entity, without putting them to a bona-fide use.
We do it all the time. Organisations do it to protect their trademark and brand image. For example, Facebook.com likely owns Facebook.org and .net. Domain ‘brokers’ make thousands to millions by ‘reserving’ high value domains, such as the two-letter ev.com (I totally guessed that one).
Some companies even take a step forward in an attempt to protect their image by buying potentially negative-sounding domain names for example, company-name-sucks.com. And you would probably be wise to do so.
After all, domain squatting didn’t spare even the White House! Just look at the satirical Whitehouse.org — although it is being actively used for a purpose rather than sitting idle for a desperate buyer who may appear someday.
Trademark & Branding
If you own MaryAnnCosmetics in Canada and expect to expand in the British market in near future, it…
