September 25, 2012
The popular social network Pinterest has set its sights on an individual in China for trademark infringement.
According to the filing, Pinterest alleges the individual has not only registered a number of domain names similar to Pinterest.com, but has also attempted to register Pinterest as a trademark in China.
Long before this situation occurred, Pinterest obviously had a glimmer of the possible threat posed by cybersquatters. The company had already registered a number of "typo" domains to help direct wayward visitors to the company's main site and to prevent a situation where common misspellings when a domain is typed into a browser leading the user to a different site.
The average online business usually wouldn't attract as much cybersquatter attention as Pinterest. The site has millions of users and is one of the most popular online destinations in the USA, making it a prime target for cybersquatting behaviour.
The filing claims the defendant "has sought to trade on this fame by registering a large number of domain names nearly identical to Pinterest's pinterest.com." The documentation lists dozens of names; mostly .com; but some using other country extensions.
While a similar threat may be low to Australian small businesses due in part to stringent .au registration criteria; an ounce of prevention can sometimes be worth a pound of cure as domain name disputes can be lengthy, complex and costly.
Even if an Australian business has no intention of constructing a web site presence, registering its business name as a .com.au domain is advisable to avoid a cybersquatter or even another eligible party from acquiring it, as too the .com version if it is available given the high level of awareness and trust among consumers of the extension.
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How to register a name: Enter your choice in the search tool and click 'GO'. If after the check the domain names search results show your choice is available, you will then have the option to proceed to purchase registration; which is a very quick and easy process - start a search and find your ideal website address now.
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