Domain Name Conflicts and CyberSquatting

As we are now in the era of cyberspace, more and more things have to go 'online'. The first and foremost thing for an organization or a business to expose online is to create their official homepage. When this comes into play, domain name is fundamental.

For domain names registration, it is first come first serve. The domain name is available to the first applicant. In cases where someone other than the trademark owner preemptively registers a trademark as a domain name, or where a domain name is registered as a trade mark, the current position under the trademark law and other relevant legislation is as follows:

1. Registering a domain name comprising a trademark registered by another person and using that name in a web site or related computer network for goods or services identical or similar to those of the registered trademark may constitute infringement under Articles 61 and 62 of the Trademark Law. Even where the use or display of a domain name does not constitute use of a trademark, if that use or display causes confusion, it could be subject to sanctions under Article 20 and Article 24 of the Fair Trade Law. 
2. Where an application is made to register as a trademark a well-known domain name of another, if the goods or services to be covered by the trademark registration are related to goods or services presented through that domain name, and where there is likelihood of confusion and misidentification among consumers at large, this may be grounds for registration being denied under Article 37 of the Trademark law. 

There are too many grey areas and the law to defend for domain name is not well developed yet. I decided to go into this topic further and will discuss some examples in future posts.