Legal Question in Technology Law in California

How to Proceed Against Cybersquatter You Can't Locate

Hi,

I am trying to write a letter to a cybersquatter who is sitting on a domain name that should be mine because it has the same name as the business I run. However, when I go to GoDaddy or WhoIs to find the registrant/registrar information, there is no email address for the registered cybersquatter and when I mail to his land address it comes back as ''non-existant address''. Does anyone know how I can proceed against this cybersquatter? There must be some exception allowing me to file a lawsuit against them even though I haven't given them notice, which I have been told is a prerequisite to filing an arbitration against them. Since I can't reach them, there must be some way to proceed anyway.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much.


Asked on 9/30/08, 1:05 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Timothy J. Walton Internet Attorney

Re: How to Proceed Against Cybersquatter You Can't Locate

My firm has done several WIPO arbitrations and has a flat fee for such disputes. Please feel free to contact me for more info.

Timothy Walton

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Answered on 9/30/08, 6:09 pm
Gordon Firemark Law Offices of Gordon P. Firemark

Re: How to Proceed Against Cybersquatter You Can't Locate

You can probably use the WIPO domain dispute arbitration procedure.

But, merely having the domain that matches your business name may not be sufficient to win your case.

Unless you have a trademark registration or some other legal claim to the "Brand" that pre-dates this other registration... you may be out of luck.

You should consult a lawyer about this before you spend lots of time/money/energy.

-Gordon Firemark

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Answered on 9/30/08, 1:12 pm


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