Just sometimes back, the world-renowned The George W. Bush Library Foundation was successful in acquiring a similar sounding domain name with the title, georgewbushlibrary.com. A small-expired domain company had purchased this domain for a low amount of $10 when it became expired. Later, the same company sold the domain for almost$35,000. It is a small fortune indeed! Now, the big question is this

– was that transaction legal? Did the internet firm involve in a curious case of cyber-squatting? These questions may linger the world of domains for a long time.   

Sitting on domain names that mimics another domain name or copies the trademarks of other sites could mean cyber-squatting on such domain names. A number of legal provisions do exist that forbid cyber-squatting in all forms. However, some expired domain traders may act in haste to earn big bucks by indulging in cyber-squatting on special expired domain names.

However, the issue of cyber-squatting could also be a matter of faith and principles. To sue someone for cyber squatting you must prove that there is a case of willful cyber-squatting. For example, if someone is using the similar sounding domain name as yours with a dot or hyphen separating some characters, you can ask the owner of that domain is stop publishing the domain. If someone is using such sites to generate revenues, you can sue the owner as well. If someone is trying to sell that domain name back to you for a hefty fee, you can consider that as a case of cyber-squatting.

Incidentally, you can also find a side industry called domain tasting, where internet domain entrepreneurs purchase recently expired domain names, check their traffic and find out about their profitability. If they feel that a particular expired domain name is worthwhile, they may keep it for themselves for future profitability. Otherwise, the firm will give the domain back within the five-day grace period.  http://www.ExpiredDomainGains.com

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