Internet trademark is a generic term referring to the relationship between trademark laws and domain names. The DNS assigns a unique domain name to each IP address. The issue of Internet branding comes into play when it comes to DSA. Legitimate trademark owners can bring an action against cybersquatters through UDRP. People looking to register a domain should be cautious in their choices.
An Internet trademark is an unofficial term relating to domain name rights on the Internet. It’s not official because, in fact, there is no brand name on the internet. Instead, it is a generic term that refers to the relationship between trademark laws and domain names.
To understand the concept of Internet branding, you must first understand the Domain Name System (DNS) and how it works. DNS assigns a unique, easy-to-remember domain name to each Internet Protocol (IP) address. Every domain name has three parts: a top-level domain (TLD), a second-level domain (SLD), and the host. The host is always “www,” while the TLD is a two-letter country code or, in the case of the United States, one of six possible names such as “com,” “net,” “org,” or “government.”
The issue of Internet branding comes into play when it comes to DSA. The person registering the domain can assign any name to the DSA, as long as it has not already been taken. The problem is that domain name registrars often fail to check the desired name against a trademark registry. This can and has led to many serious trademark infringement issues on the internet.
Sometimes a person will innocently assign an SLD name, not realizing that the name is already in use by a real entity. Other times, someone might intentionally register a trademark and then sell it to the company that owns the trademark associated with that name. These people are known as cybersquatters. In some rare cases, a business might register a competitor’s name and then start a website that makes it look bad.
After the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) was passed in 1999, legitimate trademark owners were granted the right to bring an action against such individuals. Unlike a typical court proceeding, however, a trademark infringement lawsuit is first handled by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). The process used to resolve this is known as Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP).
The trademark owner must demonstrate that the chosen domain name is identical or too similar to the trademark name, or that the registrant has intentionally chosen the name in bad faith. If the landlord loses his case with ICANN, he has the option of pursuing a lawsuit through a local court. The defendant is also protected to some extent, because he can file a counter-suit to try to prevent the transfer of the domain name.
Again, there is no internet branding. The internet is a complicated place with few rules. Therefore, people looking to register a domain should be extremely cautious in the choices they make. When facing an actual brand owner, domain name owners often end up losing the battle.
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