Microsoft Plans To Curb "Cybersquatters"
Microsoft Corp. is cracking down on a certain kind of copycat known as a "cybersquatter." Cybersquatters are individuals who register domain names similar to well-known domains, often containing trademarked terms or misspelled words--for example www.microsfot.com. The cybersquatters' goal is to profit from directing traffic to their sites using the domain...
August 25, 2006 at 09:41 AM
4 minute read
The original version of this story was published on Law.com
Microsoft Corp. is cracking down on a certain kind of copycat known as a “cybersquatter.”
Cybersquatters are individuals who register domain names similar to well-known domains, often containing trademarked terms or misspelled words–for example www.microsfot.com. The cybersquatters' goal is to profit from directing traffic to their sites using the domain names.
Microsoft has filed two civil lawsuits against four named defendants who are allegedly profiting from domain names that infringe on the company's trademarks. In its suits, Microsoft cites the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, a 1999 law that imposes civil liabilities of up to $100,000 in statutory damages for anyone who, with a bad-faith intent to profit, registers a domain name that is identical to, confusingly similar to or dilutive of an existing trademark.
In a press release, Microsoft said such incidents of cybersquatting cause, “potential confusion for visitors to Microsoft's legitimate Web sites and illegal profiteering through the misuse of Microsoft's intellectual property.”
Sites under scrutiny include “freehotmail.net,” “gamesonxbox.com” and “microsoftofficehome.info.”
Microsoft plans to expand its pre-existing Domain Defense Program to incorporate the new Internet enforcement initiative. As part of the initiative, Microsoft will file subpoenas to unmask anonymous registrants and closely monitor online auctions for infringing domain names.
Microsoft reports that on average cybersquatters register 2,000 domain names that contain the company's trademark terms daily. It is estimated that at least 90 percent of all domain registrations containing Microsoft trademarks are the product of cybersquatters.
Cybersquatters are individuals who register domain names similar to well-known domains, often containing trademarked terms or misspelled words–for example www.microsfot.com. The cybersquatters' goal is to profit from directing traffic to their sites using the domain names.
In a press release,
Sites under scrutiny include “freehotmail.net,” “gamesonxbox.com” and “microsoftofficehome.info.”
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All'Rocket Docket': EDVA Judge Controls Google's Fate in Ad Tech Monopoly Trial
4 minute readTarget's Don Liu: 4 Fortune 500 GC Posts, a Singular Focus on Opening Doors for Asian Americans
9 minute readTrending Stories
- 1The Law Firm Disrupted: Playing the Talent Game to Win
- 2Preparing Your Law Firm for 2025: Smart Ways to Embrace AI & Other Technologies
- 3BD Settles Thousands of Bard Hernia Mesh Lawsuits
- 4GlaxoSmithKline Settles Most Zantac Lawsuits for $2.2B
- 5A&O Shearman Adopts 3-Level Lockstep Pay Model Amid Shift to All-Equity Partnership
Who Got The Work
Blank Rome partner Andrew T. Hambelton has stepped in to defend Fragrancenet.com in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The case, filed Aug. 29 in New York Southern District Court by the Blakely Law Group, targets the defendants for allegedly selling counterfeit fragrance products. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield, is 1:24-cv-06521, Abercrombie & Fitch Trading Co. v. Quester (US) Enterprises, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Davis Polk & Wardwell partners Mari Grace and Edmund Polubinski III have entered appearances for Australia-based Bitcoin-mining company Iris Energy and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Eastern District Court by the Rosen Law Firm, contends that the defendants concealed the inadequacy of the company's site in Childress County, Texas, including it being 'ill-equipped' and unable to operate the company's proprietary design. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Peggy Kuo, is 1:24-cv-07046, Williams-Israel v. Iris Energy Limited et al.
Who Got The Work
Ryan S. Stippich of Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren has entered an appearance for biopharmaceutical company Veru Inc. and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Sept. 30 in Wisconsin Western District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of June Ovadias, accuses the defendant of failing to disclose that small sample sizes and other issues rendered it unlikely that the FDA would grant Emergency Use Authorization for the cancer drug candidate sabizabulin as a potential treatment for COVID-19. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge William M. Conley, is 3:24-cv-00676, Ovadias, June v. Steiner, Mitchell et al.
Who Got The Work
Holland & Knight partners Cynthia A. Gierhart and Thomas Willcox Brooke have entered appearances for Pakistani American Political Action Committee and Rao Kamran Ali in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The action, filed Sept. 24 in District of Columbia District Court by Jackson Walker on behalf of Pakistani American Public Affairs Committee, accuses the defendants of using a mark that's confusingly similar to the plaintiff's 'Pak-Pac' marks without authorization. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Randolph D. Moss, is 1:24-cv-02727, Pakistani American Public Affairs Committee v. Pakistani American Political Action Committee et al.
Who Got The Work
Lauren M. Rosenberg and Yonatan Even of Cravath, Swaine & Moore have stepped in to represent Israel-based Oddity Tech Ltd. in a pending securities class action. The case, filed Aug. 30 in New York Southern District Court by Pomerantz LLP and Holzer & Holzer, contends that the defendant made materially misleading statements regarding the capability of Oddity's AI technology and ongoing civil litigation, resulting in the artifical inflation of the market price of Oddity's securities. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Margaret M. Garnett, is 1:24-cv-06571, Hoare v. Oddity Tech Ltd. et al.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250