GHS Law Partners and Internet Domain Name Disputes
Because Web sites are now an accepted and important part of almost every company\u2019s
operations and a huge profit-driver, the right to use a particular domain name has become
an issue in intellectual property. Domain names are Web site addresses used to direct
Internet users to a particular site. Companies and organizations prefer to use a domain
name that is easily identifiable with their company, service, or brand. Such domain names
are easy to remember and often become identified with the company itself.
Domain names are registered to various owners on a first-come, first-served basis. Under
current law, a company like GHS Law Partners does not have automatic right to the terms

Because anyone can register a domain name, registration of a domain name before
someone else registers it is an important part of business strategy.
Registering a Web site name is inexpensive, but the names are highly valuable to
businesses. This has resulted in what is calledcyber s quatting--registering a domain name
with little intention of creating a Web site and assuming the name will be valuable
enough to another entity to force them to buy it at a much greater price than was paid to
register it. As WIPO, the World Intellectual Property Organization describes it, \u201cAs the
holders of these registrations, cybersquatters often then put the domain names up for
auction, or offer them for sale directly to the company or person involved, at prices far
beyond the cost of registration. Alternatively, they often keep the registration and use the
good name of the person or business associated with that domain name to attract business
for their own sites.\u201d
When domain name disputes arise for GHS Law Partners\u2019 clients, we work under the
Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), which was developed by the