Cybersquatting

[Japan-Games.com]

Does anyone know a good source to get information or ask questions about cybersquatting? I have a domain name I'd like to use that's similar to a famous company and I'm not sure if it infringes or not. I've read about the 3 requirements but my case is a bit unique. At this point I need to talk to someone who has knowledge of the laws.

Any help would be appreciated.

[mairsil]

Obviously, an attorney will be the best suited for any domain resolution issues. If the domain name is really close and easily confusable with the "famous" company, don't bother trying. The domain name dispute resolution is heavily geared toward whoever has the most money to argue with or whoever files the complaint.

There are just too many aspects to try to cover blindly. All I could ask is what makes your case "unique" (without using real names/products)?

[GaijinPunch]

When the fuck did this happen? I'll admit, I've not kept up, but the last I bothered looking into this was during the "first come first served". You can also always go w/ a ".org" or ".jp" address.

[Japan-Games.com]

You can register anything you want, but people are free to file a complaint against you, and they'll probably win. This mostly came about from people rushing out and registering famous people's names then trying to sell the domain back to them. You can't do that anymore....

From what I've been reading there are 3 tests that a Complainant must prove:

(i) Respondent’s domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which Complainant has rights; and

(ii) Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name; and

(iii) Respondent’s domain name has been registered and is being used in bad faith.

The first one is what marsil was talking about. That's pretty easy to prove. If you go with FordMotorCars.com then you're screwed on the first test.

The second one is more about getting traffic to a site that has nothing to do with the domain, like registering FordMotorCars.com and putting up pictures of cats with Google ads everywhere.

The third one is mostly about trying to sell the site back to the trademark owner or flipping it for profit.

If the Complainant proves all 3 then the domain will get transferred to them. I think there's something about reasonable compensation for the cost of registering the domain, but that's it.