Cybersquatting And Understanding Its Legal Alternatives

Internet has become the most important part of life in today's era. Human race cannot be
imagined without it. From becoming the source of information to entertainment to getting things
at our doorsteps to bringing people together, Internet has made its way into our lives.

The pros are already known, now let's understand the cons. Cybercrimes relating to frauds,
privacy threats, harassment, cyberbullying etc. are increasing around the globe. Cybersquatting
is one among them, which emerged in the mid 90s. Delhi High Court gave the definition of
Cybersquatting in Manish Vij v. Indra Chugh, AIR 2002 Del 243. The court held that “an act of
obtaining fraudulent registration with an intent to sell the domain name to the lawful owner of the
name at a premium” is known as cybersquatting. It includes purchasing, registering or making
use of a domain name of any existing big brand, company or business enterprise for the bad
intent of selling the name or profiting through generated traffic on the site.

The cybersquatters also often offer to sell the domain name to the same brand, company or
business enterprise at an unreasonable value. If a company does not re-registers it's domain
name before the expiry date, then anyone can register and buy the domain name in their
names. This is when cybersquatters come into play and do the fraudulent act. This process is
known as renewal snatching.

This makes it very important for a company to register the Domain Names to avoid any
copyrights and trademarks issues. Having the domain name registered makes it easier for the
company to take actions against the offender and to claim remedies in case of trademark
infringement.

Now let's understand what exactly domain name is. A domain name is a part of URL address
which makes it easier for the user to reach to the company's website in the browser. Every big
company existing in today's world own their domain names which gives them a singular identity.
It amounts to trademark infringement when a person obtains or uses a indistinguishable domain
name of the company.

For example: ‘Dominos’ is a big brand with huge profit and turnover. And suppose the official
domain name of Dominos is “Dominos.in” and any person has formed alike address, i.e.
“Domino.in”, amounts to trademark infringement of domain name.

Till date there is no cybersquatting laws in India and it has become a necessity of the time to
have strict laws to avoid such cybercrimes. However the victims of cybersquatting can take
actions against the cybersquatters. They can bring arbitration proceedings under Internet
Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). They can file lawsuits in different
Courts. They can send cease and desist letter. They can also apply for a passing off order. The
Courts in India usually apply The Trademark Act, 1999 to the domain name disputes. The two
kinds of remedies that are available for victims against the cybersquatters are civil and criminal
remedies under The Trademark Act, 1999.

The civil remedies include:

• Appointment of a local commissioner by the court for the custody or sealing of the infringing
materials.
• Appropriate Damages which means that the infringer will be entitled to hand over the profits
earned to the victim.
• Application can be filed under Order 39 rule 1 & 2 of CPC for grant of temporary or ad interim
ex- parte injunction.
• Injunction, which is a stay order against the use of trademark.

The criminal remedies include:

• Criminal Punishment for infringement of unregistered trademark is provided in Indian Penal
Code, 1860.
• Police have the authority to seize the power of the infringer.
• Sections such as 103 and 104 of The Trademark Act, 1999 provides for imprisonment for a
term not less than six months but which can extend to three year and fine which will not be less
than INR 50,000/- which may extend to INR 2,00,000/-
• Also section 105 of the Trademark Act, 1999 provides for excessive punishment for trademark
infringement.
• Remedy Of Passing Off. Passing Off is a law of tort which is used to enforce unregistered
trademark rights. It prevents one person from misrepresenting his goods or services as that of
another.

These are the steps a victim can take against such offenders. Many multinational companies
like Tata, Bennett & Coleman, MC Donald's Coke, Nasdaq, Viacom, MTV, Levis, B.Dalton,
Readers Digest and Avon etc; have been the victims of cybersquatting. It is high time, the Indian
government should work upon such issues and make laws for cybersquatting for the betterment
of the society or else these issues will increase with time.