You Are A Legitimate Domainer If ... You Do Not Cybersquat

There is a major perception problem that all domainers are cybersquatters. Of course, this is not true.  Cybersquatters target well know brands and trademarks, as well as typos of those marks.  Domainers target generic words that have limited or no trademark rights.  The White Hat Domainers often get lumped in with Black Hat Cybersquatters.  This misconception is typified this 'tongue-in-cheek" post on the Domain Kid Blog  as set forth below.  Notice how it implies that cybersquatting activities are inherent in domaining.

… you consider Whois a social network.
… you still refer to Zuho as SwapNames.
… you’re not a lawyer but can recite trademark laws from memory. (ES:  White Hat Domainers should know trademark law or hire a trademark attorney to steer clear of threat letters)
… you own some sort of iphone related domain name. (ES: Targeting well known brands is NOT an attribute of legitimate domaining)
… your backlink quality is more important than your quality of friends.
… two words: ICANN
… you’ve ordered chips & Dotsauce.
… you knew GoDaddy before he was even a father.
… you’ve been in a fistfight because someone has dissed your Pagerank.
… you’ve registered a celebrity’s name. (ES: Targeting well known surnames and celebrities is NOT an attribute of legitimate domaining)
… you consider parking nothing to do with an automobile.
… you’re favorite quote is "may the Rick Schwartz be with you."

… you’ve posted over 1,000 posts in any domain forum.
… you trust Estibot more than your girlfriend.
… you’ve registered a misspelled word…on purpose.
… you cried when all the LLLL’s were gone.
… you don’t know a country’s capital, but you sure as hell know thier .cc

And the last reason You Might Be A Domainer is….

…you have a bracelet that says "What would Frank Schilling Do?"

Comments

[Rudy Hernandez]

Good article. My name is Rudy Hernandez and I am the domainer who created the "You might be a domainer if...blog post that you are referencing. I agree 100% that cybersquatting is an atrocious practice that far too many domainers participate in. Not only are there the obvious legal ramifications from cybersquatting and trademark infringement domain registrations but as you said above, it increases the misconception that all domainers are cybersquatters. Veteran and professional domainers know to steer clear of this practice and I think that is exactly what distinguishes the professional domainer from the amateur domainer. In my blog, I try to inform new people to the domain industry that cybersquatting is a crime and can lead to nothing but headaches and legal woes. You article is exactly what our domain industry needs and I wish more people would support and create topics such as yours to educate the novice domainer. The list I created does include both positive and negative aspects of domaining and was meant to address the current trends/fads in domaining today. Once again, great article and I hope to read more informational topics regarding domain and domain names in the future on your website. Sincerely, Rudy Hernadez (LogistikLabs.com)

[Enrico Schaefer]

Thanks for the comment Rudy. I know your bullet list was 'tongue-in-cheek.'

You could not be more correct about the 'mis-information' and 'ignorance' problems. Too many domainers simply don't know the rules of the road. Blogging about it certainly creates the opportunity to inform!

I love the "you’ve ordered chips & Dotsauce." attribute. I am adding you to my RSS feed. Keep up the great blogging.

[Domain Attorney]

As the domain real estate continues to dwindle, it will be interesting to see if domainers become more aggressive and inadvertently cross over into cybersquatting. A domain name attorney can help a domainer stay a domainer. A domain name attorney can also help "clear" a domainer's name when being attacked and incorrectly labeled a cybersquatter.

As Frank Schilling has proven, domaining is a new and rewarding career. As John Zuccarini has proven, cybersquatting can destroy you. (see http://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/09/04/worlds_most_notorious_cybersquatter_arrested/).

Knowledge of trademark and domain name laws will lead you to a life like Frank rather than a life like John.

[Squatting Domain Names]

I think that people in the domain name market are getting more sophisticated about their use of domain names. Keep in mind that there are a relative few words which are so unique that they are automatically trademark protected. An example of such a word would be Microsoft. But most company names and brand names (as well as personal names) are less exclusive. There are lots of non-infringing uses for the word “gap” for instance. As domainers begin to realize the power of the “non-infringing use” model of domaining, there are reducing their risk of domain disputes, threat letters from large companies alleging that they are cybersquatting, UDRP arbitrations and anti-cybersquatting consumer protection act lawsuits.