There are four main types of Cybersquatting cases:
- Domain name owners suing to stop domain hijacking and claiming damages.
- Trademark owners suing for Domains registered in bad faith to get the domain name canceled or transferred – “In Rem.”
- Trademark owners suing for Domains registered in bad faith to get the domain name canceled or transferred and claiming damages.
- Trademark owners suing for their Domains registered in bad faith by their website developers to get the domain name transferred to them and claiming damages.
Cybersquatting Cases to stop domain hijacking and claiming damages
Chris Gillespie v. Google, 2017,
Status: On appeal before the 9th circuit
Alphabet won a UDRP against Chris Gillespie who registered 763 domain names containing the term “google” (e.g., googledisney.com, googlebarakobama.net, etc.). Gillespie said he registered the domains as an academic experiment to test a computer program he created to help prevent cyberpiracy, and that he chose “google” as the base term because it was “both a generic term and a very highly searched term.”
Cybersquatting Cases against Web Developers
A business partner or a web developer who registered a domain name in their own name instead of the business name.
DSPT Intern., Inc. v. Nahum (9th Cir. 2010) 624 F.3d 1213
These points of authority do not necessarily reflect the views of the writer. This blog is not legal advice. These posts are just notes.