Brandsquatting, or the unauthorized use of a company’s brand has reached new dimensions since the formation of the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP).  The UDRP is used as a means for brand owners to protect their trademarks when cybersquatters register valuable domain names and offer them for sale to the company who actually owns the mark.  However, as social networking cites have gained popularity, domain-squatting has evolved into username squatting. 

Username squatting (or usersquatting, squitting, twittersquatting, as it has come to be known in its many forms) involves registering a username, which can be someone’s domain name, trademark, or company name to cause confusion among consumers or profit from a future sale back to the trademark owner.  The registering of the username creates an extension that operates as a domain name on the social networking site.  For example, using the Twitter^® website, which is rapidly growing in popularity, a user operating under the username “adidas” creates an account on Twitter^®, which is then converted into the string http://twitter.com/adidas.  Such use can easily cause confusion among consumers, leading them to believe that brands such as Adidas^® have a presence on Twitter^®.

Brand owners are particularly vulnerable on websites such as Twitter^® because of the Twitter^® website’s dispute resolution policy.  The Twitter^® website’s terms of use policy does not specify any particular practice that trademark owners can engage in to remove infringing usernames from the site.  Twitter^® simply reserves the right to modify or terminate any account for any reason and to reclaim usernames on behalf of businesses or individuals.  The terms of use as of January 2009 state:  “We may, but have no obligation to, remove Content and accounts containing Content that we determine in our sole discretion are unlawful…or violates any party’s intellectual property or these Terms of Use.”

Other social networking sites such as Facebook^® and MySpace^® have attempted to garner greater control over who registers domain names or creates “fan” pages on behalf of famous marks.  MySpace has created an extensive MyAds program that allows companies or individuals to engage in advertising.  To be eligible, all information must be accurate, truthful, and the advertiser testifies that he or she does not violate the privacy rights, publicity rights, copyrights, or contract rights of any person or entity.  Furthermore, MySpace^® has established a step-by-step complaint process for brand owners to protect their trademarks and copyrighted material. 

While Facebook^® initially encountered infringing use during the beginning stages of its Fan Pages, it now has likewise developed a process for trademark owners to complain and have their marks transferred to them.  In many instances, brand name owners have found it beneficial to take a soft approach to the transfer process and even thank their infringers for showing their support and sharing their dedication to the brand with others.

Whether faced with a fan page, an unauthorized advertisement, or even a third party username, brand owners must be vigilant in protecting their marks.  With the ever-expanding use of social networking websites, monitoring such use has become difficult and enforcing one’s mark costly.  Websites such as www.usernamecheck.com provide a quick view of how wide spread one’s use of the mark is on different websites.  Internet and e-Commerce attorneys can help you proactively implement, regularly update, and enforce a variety of different online policies.

If you are interested in additional information on username squatting, or if you have any questions regarding domain names or our trademark protection services, please contact one of our Dallas IP lawyers.  We offer an array of services in the areas of intellectual property including patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets as well as intellectual property litigation and enforcement.  Detailed information of these and other services is available at www.kk-llp.com.