Procedures for Protecting Entertainment Domain Names Against Cybersquatters

As many entertainment companies and entertainers know, domain names present an easy opportunity for infringement. Cybersquatters register domains containing a trademark, or similar to a trademark, for the purpose of selling that domain to the trademark owner for a high price. A variety of “top level domains” (i.e., .com, .org, .net) enable such cybersquatters to buy domains corresponding to trademarks with the intent of profiting off the infringement. In recent years, the expansion of “generic top level domains” (gTLDs) — which range from “.college” and “.dog” to “.porn” and “.sucks” — have opened the door for cybersquatters to seize hundreds of new domains containing trademarks. (A list of these new gTLDs, approved by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), can be found at https://go.icann.org/2fvWNKf.)

Fortunately, there are ways to both prevent and combat a cybersquatter purchasing the domain “yourtrademark.sucks.” Proactive measures can be taken through registration of a federally protected trademark with the Trademark Clearinghouse, a centralized database for trademarks used in the new gTLDs. Registration with the clearinghouse allows a mark holder to register for a domain in a new gTLD during that gTLD's “sunrise period” — a gTLD's initial 30 days, during which only trademark owners can register for domains matching their mark.