“Domain Squatting” is when someone takes a domain name for a trademarked item. The idea was – or is – to have the owner of the trademarked term purchase it at big bucks. More likely they’ll have a corporate lawyer try to get you to cease and desist.
Or maybe there’s a new tactic now… getting the Feds to just seize the website.
Reminder: If you register domain names with trademarked terms something nasty like this could happen!
Homeland Security seizes domain names…
The investigative arm of the Homeland Security Department appears to be shutting down websites that facilitate copyright infringement.Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has seized dozens of domain names over the past few days, according to TorrentFreak.ICE appears to be targeting sites that help Internet users download copyrighted music, as well as sites that sell bootleg goods, such as fake designer handbags.The sites are replaced with a note from the government: “This domain named has been seized by ICE, Homeland Security Investigations.”For instance, borntrade.com, 51607.com, and amoyhy.com have each been seized.
Here’s what their handiwork looks like:
Heather on November 30th, 2010 at 2:15 pm
All of us would be annoyed if the results of our creative work were stolen and our potential financial compensation for this hard work and inventiveness were largely eliminated. But I do not think the decision of the Homeland Security Department is effective since the founders of such websites can just move abroad and run them from another country.