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11 Wash. U. J.L. & Pol'y 267 (2003)
The Latest Cybersquatting Trend: Typosquatters, Their Changing Tactics, and How to Prevent Public Deception and Trademark Infringement

handle is hein.journals/wajlp11 and id is 271 raw text is: The Latest Cybersquatting Trend: Typosquatters,Their Changing Tactics, and How To Prevent Public Deception and Trademark Infringement Dara B. Gilwit* I. INTRODUCTION In an era when technology dominates, the Internet has become an indispensable and expedient source for a wealth of information. From purchasing clothes and cars, to dating and corresponding with people across the globe, the Internet is the modem day choice for instantaneous communications. Many businesses, relying heavily on customer website usage, distinguish products through their trademarks, which indicate quality and help develop brand names.' Thus, using trademarks as domain names helps businesses to create a strong presence on the Internet.2 Yet, domain name registration, once a convenient identification method for consumers, has become a profitable venture for clever entrepreneurs such as cybersquatters. A eybersquatter is a party who possesses no legitimate interest in a trademark and attempts to profit by registering the trademark as a domain name before the rightful trademark owner can do so.3 * J.D. Candidate, 2003, Washington University School of Law. 1. Yasaman Navai, Note, Sporty's Farm L.L.C. v. Sportsman Market Inc., Protecting Against Cybersquatting or extending the Allowable Reach of Trademark Law on the World Wide Web, 11 DEPAuL-LCA I. ART & ENT. L. & POL'Y 191, 191 (2001). Consumers rely primarily on brand names when participating in online commerce. S. REP. NO. 106-140, at 5 (1999). 2. A domain name mirroring a corporate name may be a valuable corporate asset, as it facilitates communication with a customer base. Panavision International, L.P. v. Toeppen, 141 F.3d 1316, 1327 (quoting MTV Networks, Inc. v. Curry, 867 F. Supp. 202, 203-04 n.2 (S.D.N.Y. 1994)). A company should use its trademark as a domain name to ensure that its site is easily located. Id. 3. Jonathan M. Ward, Comment, The Rise and Fall of Internet Fences: The Overbroad Protection of the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, 5 MARQ. INTELL. PROP. L. REV. 211, 215 (2001) (quoting Intermatic, Inc. v. Toeppen, 947 F. Supp. 1227, 1233 (N.D. Ill. 1996)).

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