Webwork - 4:18 pm on Oct 1, 2008 (gmt 0)

For those who are interested in learning a bit more about what "cybersquatting" is or isn't here's a few resources:

The website "Chilling Effects" is often a good place to start when confronted with free speech and intellectual property (copyright, trademark, patent) issues.

From ChillingEffects.org: Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act FAQ [chillingeffects.org]

The next quote is from The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office [74.125.45.104] website:

Consistent with the comments generated by our Federal Register notice and request for comments, the report makes no new recommendations for guidelines and procedures and counsels legislative restraint at this time. The Department of Commerce believes that there is insufficient evidence as of this date to suggest that personal name holders lack redress when their names are abusively registered as Internet domain names. This report also concludes that the current work of the World Intellectual Property Organization being undertaken to explore and make recommendations concerning the bad faith registration of personal names will offer further clarification of these complex issues.

Lastly, the follow is extracted from the language of the ACCPA:

(d) Cyberpiracy prevention (1) (A) A person shall be liable in a civil action by the owner of a mark, including a personal name which is protected as a mark under this section, if, without regard to the goods or services of the parties, that person— (i) has a bad faith intent to profit from that mark, including a personal name which is protected as a mark under this section; and (ii) registers, traffics in, or uses a domain name that— (I) in the case of a mark that is distinctive at the time of registration of the domain name, is identical or confusingly similar to that mark; (II) in the case of a famous mark that is famous at the time of registration of the domain name, is identical or confusingly similar to or dilutive of that mark; or (III) is a trademark, word, or name protected by reason of section 706 of title 18 or section 220506 of title 36.

Some night, when you cannot settle your mind, I suggest reading decisions of the arbitrator panels at WIPO or the National Arbitration Forum. For some folks such reading is a natural soporific.