What’s in A Name? The Abusive Domain of Cybersquatting in India

The present study focuses on cybersquatting – a practice where certain domain names are targeted and bought with a corrupt intent to be sold later to relevant users at exorbitant prices. Users include individuals and businesses who intend to create websites identifiable with their name/brand name. Such illicit practices result in significant damage to business prospects of the affected companies. While US enacted the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) back in 1999, India remained far behind with no explicit legislation or uniform code to govern cybersquatting. The study highlights ramification of such illicit practices and present corrective legal mechanism in Indian context. The study further analyses key cybersquatting cases resolved by Indian courts. Finally, it also recommends remedial measures to deal with cybersquatting.