An Examination of Its Impact on Members of U.S. Congress

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Introduction

Cybersquatting and its subsets, typosquatting and combosquatting, pose a major problem for businesses and consumers online. Websites found on cybersquatted domains can result in lost revenue, unnecessary costs, and brand dilution for businesses. Cybersquatting can also result in identity theft, malware infection, financial loss and possible harm for consumers. The Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse (CADNA) has conducted this study to shed light on a different form of squatting: identity squatting.

Cybersquatting is defined as the bad-faith registration of a domain name that includes or is confusingly similar to a trademark. Identity squatting refers to the particular act of registering domain names containing famous individuals’ names in bad faith with the intention of profiting from them.

For enforcement purposes, identity squatting is treated the same as conventional cybersquatting. The individual must first demonstrate that they posses some trademark rights to their name in order to bring a successful enforcement action. Merely being well known as a celebrity or an elected official is not sufficient.

For purposes of both avenues of recourse available – the U.S. federal Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) and the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), both of which apply to most generic top-level domains – through which an individual can prove trademark rights by showing that their name has been used in connection with the sale of goods or services: some examples include, the sale of books or t-shirts, a law practice bearing their name or a bill from a private speaking engagement.

While identity squatting may not result in the monetary losses that other forms of cybersquatting result in, identity squatting can be extremely damaging to an individual’s online reputation and can lead to confusion and distrust on the part of Internet users. CADNA’s study specifically seeks to quantify the effect that identity squatting has on members of the U.S. Congress.

Government officials have a great deal at stake. Many use the Internet to make information about themselves, their work, and their promises available to the public, as well as to maintain an accurate and accessible source of information about their current and future candidacies for their constituents.

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