Cybersquatting is a fairly new word that came into use with the rise of the internet. We will look at the meaning of the term cybersquatting, its legal implications and some examples of its use in sentences.
Cybersquatting is the process of buying an internet domain name for a trademarked or well-known brand or company and holding the right to use that domain name hostage in the hopes of selling it to the rightful company for an enormous profit. A domain name is the internet address that leads to blogs and websites. In the United States, the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act provides recourse for cybersquatting. National jurisdictions can make it difficult to wrest control of a domain name from a cybersquatter, but the United Nations does offer an arbitration system. Cybersquatters do not generally use the domain names they have registered, they simply pay a small yearly fee to maintain ownership of these domain names. The word cybersquatting was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2000, the verb cybersquat was added in 2010. Related words are cybersquats, cybersquatted.
Examples
Typosquatting, which is also known as URL hijacking, is a form of cybersquatting that targets internet users who accidentally type a website address into their web browser incorrectly. (Zee Business)
Cybersquatting, or domain squatting, is the act of registering or using a domain name with the intent of profiting from someone else’s trademark. (The International Business Times)
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is nearing the end of a cybersquatting case it filed against GoDaddy five years ago, which went to trial this week in a California courtroom. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Steven Thiele, Gangsta Cybersquatter Sued By Miccosukee Tribe, Now Targets Zo’s Summer Groove (The Miami New Times)