Cybersquatting

Domain names are valuable property. Some are extremely valuable as many companies would like to own them. Think of common terms such as 'insurance', 'lucky', 'english', 'fun' with .com or maybe .co.uk as part of the URL.

So in order to make money, a 'cybersquatter' will buy a domain name, not make any actual use of it. Their only aim is for someone who *really* wants it, to pay them to sell it.

Cybersquatting was quite a problem at the start of the internet as no rules were in place as to who had the rights to a domain name. But gradually the law caught up and decided that if it comes to a court case, a cybersquatter will have to prove they have a genuine right to own the name. For example quite often if a person becomes famous, they have a strong case for owning a domain by that name.

2020-10