(1) Please define what a "cyber squatter" is.

(2) Please describe at least one problem caused by cyber squatters.

(3) Please describe two different ways companies can avoid the problems caused by cyber squatters.

(4) Please explain why each of the two ways suggested in (3) would work.

1). According to our book, cyber squatters are registered domain names for famous trademarks or company names to which they had no connection. The intent is that large trademark owners would eventually buy the domain name for a large some of money (Reynolds 262).

2). A big problem that is caused by cyber squatters is their ability to tarnish the reputation of renowned trademark names. For example, common cyber squatters are misspelled versions of trademark domain addresses. The problem this causes for web surfers is that people intending to visit a brand’s web sites may instead end up on a cyber squatter’s site and then be redirected to a phishing site. Furthermore, those sites may contain offensive content, or pay-per-click ads, or they may create a false association with the trademark owner or sell competing products (Source: 2008 Brandjacking Index, MarkMonitor Inc., San Francisco). As a result, a business’s brand reputation is damaged and can result in substantial revenue losses.

3). Two ways that business’s can avoid the mayhem of cyber squatters is by filing a lawsuit against a cyber squatter using the ACPA (Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act of 1999) and filing a UDRP (Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy) complaint with ICANN. The first approach takes legal actions against a cyber squatter and once the case is won, the business can reclaim the domain site. The second approach files an infringement complaint against a cyber squatter and if proofed that the site was used in bad faith, the cyber squatter is forced to relinquish the domain site.

4). The first approach would work because under the ACPA, the alleged cyber squatter is trialed in