How to determine whether a domain name is maliciously registered? What should I do if a domain name is registered maliciously?

We know that domain name registration is open to the world, which means that everyone has the opportunity to register, provided that the domain name has not been registered. If the corporate brand domain name you want to register has been registered, how can you determine whether the other party did it unintentionally or intentionally? Here are several ways to identify and avoid hurting others. If you know that the other party is maliciously registering, what methods can be used to get it back?

What is domain name registration?

Domain name registration is to register in advance and take it as your own before the other party thinks of registering, knowing that the other party's brand is already well-known, and to seek benefits for yourself. One is to sell it to the brand at a high price, and the other is to pretend to be the other party's brand. In the early days of the Internet, before most brands established websites, domain name registration was very common.

Now, most brands have developed and matured, and some have bought domain names from others at high prices, or registered new domain names with their own creativity. Even so, cases of domain names being registered by others can still be seen on hot topics.

How to distinguish malicious registration

If you find that your brand has been registered when registering a domain name, and you do not have enough resources to compete with the other party, you must first understand the other party's intentions. If the other party not only registers the domain name but also actively finds you and wants to sell it at a high price, you should be careful at this time. There are several ways to determine the other party's situation.

1. Domain name registration and the time of your brand establishment

If your corporate brand was established earlier than the domain name registration time, then the other party is a normal registration and does not belong to malicious registration. What you need to reflect on is why you did not register the domain name in advance. You can re-register a new domain name or purchase this second-hand domain name. If the corporate brand was established later than the domain name registration time, and the domain name has no other projects, open it and it will show "This domain name is for sale". . . Then it can be confirmed that the other party is intentional and just waits for the buyer to come. This kind of suggestion is to launch an attack and sue, and the probability of success is relatively high.

2. The meaning of the domain name is not a common keyword

If your brand has a certain degree of popularity and many people search for it, the domain name is industry-wide. The person who registered the domain name can only be called a domain name investor, not a preemptor, because he is as optimistic about this market as you are, and he may want to do this business. You need to pay more attention to the domain name. If you can't wait, you can only re-register it through creativity.

3. Click to enter the sales page of your product

If you have an outstanding brand and find that someone is using your domain name (or a similar domain name) to imitate your project, you may have encountered a domain name preemptor. Using a similar domain name to benefit from other companies' brands will undoubtedly fall into a gray area.

4. They actively contact you to provide a sales website

If someone contacts you to sell the domain name before you have any intention of using it, it is very likely that he is doing it intentionally and wants to make money from you by selling it, especially without a price standard. The domain name is unique, and they want to rely on this to make you pay a large sum of money. This requires collecting evidence to prove that the holder is intentionally preemptive.

What to do if the domain name is preempted?

It costs money to fight against domain name preemptors, but fortunately, brands usually have a sure win. If you have a professional team of lawyers, there are two options to fight back against domain name preemptors.

1. Sue ACPA

For this situation, there is the Anti-Internet Domain Name Squatting Consumer Protection Act to protect you. If you can determine that the person who occupied your domain name is a domain name squatter, you can apply for a lawyer, so that the probability of winning will be relatively high.

2. Arbitration through ICANN

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is a relatively mild economic option, which will not suffer any economic losses. If you win the lawsuit, the domain name will be transferred to your name. A few years ago, the most famous Tencent wenxin.com domain name was obtained without spending a penny by suing the squatter, making everyone realize that squatting brand domain names is risky.

The person who sued needs to have a clear understanding of the domain name squatter incident, and make accurate judgments and find legal grounds, rather than targeting those who sincerely purchase domain names.

Here is a reminder that if you have your own brand, you must register all kinds of suffixes, such as .com, .cn, .net and .info. This can avoid a lot of trouble caused by domain name registration.