Microsoft Launches Anti-Cybersquatting Campaign

by Glen Shapiro, LawAndTax-News.com, New York

25 August 2006

Microsoft announced this week that it has launched an anti-cybersquatting and typosquatting campaign, known as the Domain Defense Program.

Under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA), enacted in 1999, cybersquatting is the act of registering, trafficking in, or using a domain name with bad-faith intent to profit from the goodwill of a trademark belonging to someone else.

Typosquatting is a form of cybersquatting where someone registers a domain name of a highly visited Web site, except with typographical errors.

Kicking off the campaign, Microsoft has filed two civil lawsuits against a total of four named defendants who are allegedly profiting from domain names that infringe on Microsoft trademarks.

These two lawsuits include federal law claims under ACPA and the Lanham Act, as well as state law claims for statutory unfair competition and common law unfair competition and conversion.

Secondly, Microsoft announced that it is taking action to unmask defendants who have used privacy protection services to conceal their identities. To unmask those identities, Microsoft is filing a ‘John Doe’ lawsuit aimed at identifying cybersquatters and typosquatters who have used privacy protection services to conceal their identities.

Lastly, Microsoft is working to aggressively halt online auctions of infringing domain names. With increasing frequency, people purchase a domain name and, if it generates a compelling amount of traffic, resell the domain name for a profit. To address the problem of domain auctioneering, Microsoft will expand its systematic searches of such auctions and seek to have them removed from the auction Web site.

“Microsoft has witnessed a virtual land rush for Internet domain names with the goal of driving traffic for profit,” Program head, Internet Safety Enforcement Attorney Aaron Kornblum explained, continuing:

“Placing a high profile or pop culture trademark in your domain name is a tempting but illegal way to generate pay-per-click revenue.”

He concluded:

“Microsoft hopes to help Web surfers reach their intended Internet destinations. Where you cross the line is when you misuse someone else’s intellectual property in your domain name."

"Microsoft is aggressively targeting those who misuse Microsoft’s intellectual property for monetary gain.”

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