Cybersquatting

28.10.2024

Cybersquatting

Why in the news?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

     Recently, a Delhi based developer registered the domain, 'JioHotstar,' which ignited a debate on cybersquatting.

About Cybersquatting:

• It is an act of registering or using a domain name to profit from a trademark, corporate or personal name of an individual.
• Usually, cybersquatting is seen as a form of extortion or even as an attempt to take over business from its rival.

Types of Cybersquatting

○Typosquatting: These domains are bought with typological errors in the names of well-known brands. Examples of such misspelled domains are yajoo.com, facebok.com etc. The intention behind this act is to divert the target audience whenever they misspell a domain name.

○Identity theft: In cases pertaining to identity theft, the website of an already existing brand is copied with the intention of confusing the target consumer.

○Name jacking: It involves impersonating a well-known name/ celebrity in cyberspace. Instances of name jacking would include creating fake websites/ social media accounts with a celebrity’s name.

○Reverse cybersquatting: It means an event whereby a person/s falsely claims a trademark as their own and falsely accuses the domain owner of cybersquatting. In essence, this act is the opposite of cybersquatting.

• In India, there are no specific laws that condemn, prohibit or penalize the act of cybersquatting.
• However, domain names are considered as trademarks under the Trademark Act, 1999. Hence, any person who starts using an identical/similar domain name will be held liable for trademark infringement as described under Section 29 of the Trademark Act, 1999.

                                                                 Source: Indian Express

Consider the following statements regarding Cybersquatting:

Statement-I :It is penalized under the Information Technology Act 2000 in India.

Statement-II:It is an act of registering or using a domain name to profit from a trademark, corporate or personal name of an individual.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

A.Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I.

B.Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-I.

C.Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect.

D.Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct.

Answer D