Domain name infringement & cybersquatting

elvisshades · 07-20-2006, 09:11 AM

Hi there,
I run a forum with about 2,000 members. Its been up for 3 yrs and is doing quite well. Recently, an angry member decided to pretty much copy my idea and content and make his own website/forum. Problem is the domain name is almost exactly the same as mine except he has the letter "s" at the end (ex. racecarforum.com - mine, racecarforums.com -his). He has changed the content so its no longer word for word but I'm still not happy. The site is based on the same theme and concept as mine.

I've contacted his host and this is what they said:
Dear Sir:

As an ICANN accredited Registrar, we are unable to take action
against domain name registrants on trademark disputes. We are
required to adhere to the provisions of the UDRP defined by ICANN and
described at http://www.icann.org/udrp/udrp.htm.

Thank you,
Jimmy

Now I don't think my site is trademarked or copyrighted but I still don't think he can do what he's done. The UDRP wants several thousand dollars to figure this all out.

My question: is there anything else I can do other than get the UDRP involved (spending big $$) to get my message across?

Thanks guys...

**John Scott** · 07-20-2006, 10:10 AM

Race Car Forum - all common words, and as such I doubt you have a strong claim against him.

elvisshades · 07-20-2006, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnScott

Race Car Forum - all common words, and as such I doubt you have a strong claim against him.

Hey John,
Thanks for a quick reply. Race Car Forum isn't the exact website obviously. It was just an example. My real website is pretty similar in that they are common words though.

I just find it hard that someone can own say, paypal.com and someone else can copy their idea and even use their same software and legally operate as paypals.com?

I would think that it would be clear to any panel that the domain name is intended to (and actually does) confuse and misdirect customers seeking my website. No?

enrico1999 · 01-14-2007, 06:36 PM

You have trademark rights the moment you take unique words, phrases or combinations of words in commerce. Assuming your domain name is not completely generic, you likely have common law trademark rights. If it is clear that they have copied the look and feel of your site in an attempt to divert traffic, then you can establish bad faith under the UDRP. If you can show that they were aware of your domain name before they registered theirs, your case gets better. This would be classic cybersquatting. You can find some more domain name theft information here ...

I hope this helps. The internet is the wild west in too many ways. Often times, domain name theives get away with cybersquatting simply because it cost to much money to stop them.