Trademark Law

Domain Tasting Gone Bad

By Enrico Schaefer

According to ICANN, domain tasting is defined as ?the monetization practice employed by registrants to use the ad grace period to register domain names in order to test their profitability.?  The ad grace period, or AGP, is the 5-day period following a registration during which the registrant is entitled to revoke the registration for a full refund.  During this period, registrants conduct a cost benefit analysis to see if the tested domain names return enough traffic to offset the registration fee paid to the registry over the course of the registration period.  In other words, for six dollars or so, a registrant can register numerous domain names, which may include trademarks of others, in order to see if they can acquire enough revenue to justify such a practice. 

However, the recent case Dell vs. Florida Registrars may be changing all of this.  Trademark holders are rooting for Dell, while cybersquatters are undoubtedly hoping to mount a defense against claims of cybersquatting, trademark infringement, counterfeiting, dilution, and unfair competition.  Although the result is yet to be determined, it is clear that trademark owners are no longer standing by as cybersquatters seek to capitalize off of their valuable trademark rights.  So, whether you are a trademark holder or an individual interested in registering domain names, it is important for you to understand the distinctions between being a domainer and being a cybersquatter.  You may be conducting a legitimate business in one sense or exposing yourself to significant liability in another.  Contact us today if you wish for us to analyze your domain name, trademark, or cybersquatting issue. 

Full post as published by AntiCybersquatting Consumer Protection Act Blog on December 03, 2007 (boomark / email).