What is Reverse Domain Hijacking?

Typically associated with cyber squatting, reverse domain hijacking describes a practice where a company that owns a trademark exercises its trademark rights in attempts to secure a domain name from the legitimate holder.  This is something that has become all too common these days.  More and more, we are seeing small companies and entrepreneurs registering domain names that are also targeted by bigger companies.  In hopes of intimating the little guy, these big spenders have been known to cry the UDRP (Uniform Domain-Name Dispute Resolution Policy) and engage in legal battles many smaller companies simply can’t afford.

While domain disputes often boil down to a lot of specifics, it is a known fact that several larger companies rely on their financial resources to wrestles names from the grips of legitimate owners.  Why has this practice become so widespread?  This is because the UDRP does not contain any meaningful literature stating that overzealous and determined trademark owners cannot file complaints.  And despite the monstrous label of reverse domain name hijackers, nothing to this point has been enough to deter the efforts of corporate giants.  As long as these companies continue to enjoy publicized measures of success, such claims could be filed for some time to come.

Fighting Back Against the Bullies

So, what do you do when the big bad corporate bullies come knocking and threatening to seize your domain?  Well, if they have the resources along with the trademark, the company can file an action in court and make the claim that the registration or utilization of the domain is not considered unlawful on their part in accordance to the ACPA (Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act).  This legislation was put in place to balance the rights of domain name holders and trademark owners respectively.  Most importantly, it was enacted to address the growing problem of reverse domain name hijacking.  However, there is only so much the ACPA can do for you.  For instance, you can only win back your domain name as the legislation does not cover any financial damages against the trademark owner.  Equipped with ample resources, this is one of the main reasons trademark owners will continue their abusive practices and keep the pressure on smaller companies.  Unfortunately, even though you can leverage the ACPA to take action in court, very few domain owners have a wallet sizable enough to challenge a bigger company for the domain name they have legitimate rights to.

Change is Needed

There has been much debate on whether the ACPA should be amended to create a greater balance between the rights of domain name and trademark owners.  However, implementing such a change would require the full cooperation of many parties including the domain and trademark holders who already are not seeing eye to eye, and quite possibly a few government bodies as well.  Unfortunately, until the playing field is leveled, trademark owners will continue to pull out their big wallets and strip domain names away from less fortunate, but legitimate registrants.

Related posts:

• November 11, 2010 – What is Reverse Domain Name Hijacking?
• December 23, 2008 – The In’s and Out’s of Domain Names
• June 10, 2011 – How to Prevent Domain Hijacking
• December 19, 2011 – Top 10 Domain Registrars
• September 30, 2011 – Picking up Expired Domains – Not Always Fun, but There’s a Way
• September 27, 2011 – Common Web Hosting Terms And What They Mean
• September 16, 2011 – Avoiding Domain Name Scams and Dead Ends
• September 5, 2011 – Premium Domain Names: What Are They?
• September 2, 2011 – Domain Names – Do You Still Need One
• September 1, 2011 – Budget Web Hosting: Is It Worth the Buck?

In the Beginning

Domains first surfaced back in 1985, starting with only six.  The popularity of today’s internet and World Wide Web has lead to several types of domains, many of which are still intended to identify certain entities and make it easy for users to find specific content.  When introduced by the World Wide Web, both .com and .org where intended for different purposes. .com was intended to represent commercial entities while .org was to be used by organizations.  The second-level domain was meant to identify a specific entity or business with the third-level usually specifying the location of the host server.  The high demand of .com resulted in a number of non-commercial entities seeking to own website addresses under this TLD.

Domain Abuse

Domain names have been a hot commodity for sometime and are widely abused.  Cyber squatting is one such exploit which describes someone trying to generate traffic to their site by leveraging the name of a well known company.  While laws have been set in place to protect prominent internet companies, another ploy known as reverse domain hijacking emerged and brought forth a slew of new problems.  Reverse domain hijacking refers to a company or individual claiming a domain as their own trademark when someone else actually has legal rights to it.  Despite the internet’s growth and the phenomenon behind domain names, there is still no one organization designated to govern this huge system.

Because domain names have been around for years, many of the good ones are no longer available.  This has caused many people to resort to complicated names or those that don’t necessarily suit their business.  It has also lead some to register unique domains by taking the name of any existing third-level domain and adding different symbols to mimic popular companies.  This is a strategy often employed by scam artists and malicious code writers looking to compromise visitors.

Availability

Domain names are widely available these days, typically sold by companies known as registrars and even web hosting providers.  The price for a domain varies from company to company but the cost is significantly cheaper than past times.  Well known domain registrars such as GoDaddy may sale domains at anywhere from $5 to $10 per year while a web hosting company might offer a free domain and registration for purchasing a monthly plan.

With so many companies offering service, buying a domain is easy, though you may not always get the name you want.  If you have something clever it mind, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to secure it now before its no longer on the market.

Related posts:

• August 12, 2009 – Reverse Domain Name Hijacking on the Rise
• September 16, 2011 – Avoiding Domain Name Scams and Dead Ends
• September 5, 2011 – Premium Domain Names: What Are They?
• July 18, 2011 – Domain Name Expansion Expected to Create Major Problems
• June 10, 2011 – How to Prevent Domain Hijacking
• September 7, 2010 – How to Pick the Right Domain Name Extension
• February 18, 2010 – The Cost of a Domain Name – Registering Your Domain
• July 28, 2009 – How to Invest in a Domain Name
• July 14, 2009 – What Do You Get with a Cheap Domain Name?
• July 7, 2009 – Choosing a Keyword-rich Domain for Your PPC Campaign