What Is Cybersquatting?

Cybersquatting is a very serious concern today on the online world. Its practice has been widely denounced by more and more people because it constitutes an action that would not benefit the whole online world in general. It has been around since domain names have become quite valuable assets now more commonly being compared to real estate.

Cybersquatting is the practice of registering, using or selling a domain name in bad faith and with the intent of making money by means of the trademark of somebody else. The term was taken from the word "squatting", which means the act of occupying an unoccupied space or area that is owned by others. To some extent, cybersquatting holds a similar meaning in a different way.

Cybersquatting is an act wherein a person registers and takes ownership of domain names that are named after certain existing businesses and holding them with the intent of selling the domain names to those business for a profit. In a way, cybersquatting is a bit like trying to hold a certain trademarked name "hostage", until its owner agrees to buy it at a certain price.

The practice of cybersquatting started at a time when not all businesses were yet aware of how the online world truly works and how to take advantage of the commercial opportunities there. But there were then some people who were already seeing the incredible opportunity the online world can provide to many businesses setting up their online presence in the future. Some were even enterprising enough to register domain names of well-known brands and companies, knowing that these same brands and companies would want them sooner or later and sell them for profit. And that's exactly what happened.

Various well known global companies have become victims of cybersquatting. And in trying to protect their name or brand, some usually resort to buying back domain names under their name even at quite an expense on their part. Realizing that such actions have proven unfair to many big and legitimate businesses, laws trying to protect trademark names have been extended into the registration of domain names.

The Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act has been enacted into law in 1999 in the US in order to provide some protection to trademark owners who may easily become victims of cybersquatting. Other countries such as Australia have followed suit in trying to protect businesses from being victimized by cybersquatting.