Cybersquatters are here to stay, and it might be a good idea to familiarise yourself with what they do to ensure you, your business, and your brand, don’t get caught.

Growing in popularity amongst the Internet underworld, cybersquatting is now seen as a way to make cash relatively easily. Culprits simply register domain names of well-known brands or companies with active trademarks, and in turn, once that company realises it needs the name, domainers will sell it back to you at premium costs.

It means big brands, celebrities, and the like are quick to snap up any new domain opportunities that open up, because they know if they don’t, they could easily be held to ransom, and this is why small business should stay one step ahead.

Many social media websites, such as Facebook and Twitter, have policies in place to try circumnavigate the cybersquatting trend that has arisen. Facebook’s policy is rather simple, they reserve the right to reclaim usernames if they are seen to be infringing on a trademark.

However, the onus is on the trademark owner to report the infringement and, ultimately, prove the infringement. Twitter forbids squatting outright, as well as the sale of Twitter usernames. However, when it comes to the use of domain names, the policy isn’t as clear.

Once domain names are open to the general public, registration occurs on a first come, first served basis. To try and circumnavigate the issue, important domain name registration phases to assist business and trademark owners.

The recent launch of the dotAfrica domain (.africa) is an example of this. The Sunrise phase allows trademark owners to register their domains early on to ensure they aren’t caught up in legal battles when the general availability phase begins on Tuesday, 4 July.

The concept behind the Sunrise phase is simple – to stop cybersquatters from abusing the new top level domain for financial reward. The Sunrise phase ended on Friday, 2 June. Should a trademark owner choose to register their domains, they could find themselves in a bidding war for their trademark.

The legalities involved in potentially reclaiming a name from a counter bid are not only costly but also time intensive and admin heavy. According to Lucky Masilela, the CEO of ZA Central Registry NPC, who is managing the launch of the dotAfrica (.africa) domain, the Sunrise period assists in preventing trademark infringement, as trademark owners can register domain names linked to their intellectual property before the domains are available to just anybody.

While the benefits of a new top level domain such as dotAfrica include securing online real-estate in a new market, the option to register before cybersquatters is a valuable one.

The costs involved in not only proving intellectual property but removing an individual from your domain at a later stage can be exorbitant. Registering early could assist in keeping those costs down. Best bet? Register your domain sooner, rather than later, to ensure you are secure.

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