Domain Disputes

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Domain name disputes can hijack your brand online, so we recover infringing domains and defend your rights through UDRP and URS proceedings, ACPA litigation, and direct negotiation.

Your domain name is often the first thing a customer types and the easiest piece of your brand for someone else to grab. When a cybersquatter, typosquatter, or competitor registers a name that trades on your trademark, you have several routes to get it back. We handle domain disputes through UDRP and URS proceedings, ACPA litigation, and negotiation, and we pick the path that fits your goal and budget.

UDRP and URS Proceedings

The Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy is the workhorse for recovering infringing domains without going to court. We file UDRP complaints that prove your trademark rights, the domain's confusing similarity, the registrant's lack of any legitimate interest, and bad-faith registration and use. For the clearest cases of abuse, the faster and cheaper Uniform Rapid Suspension system can take the domain offline while you weigh longer-term options.

ACPA Litigation in Federal Court

Sometimes a transfer is not enough. The Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act lets you sue in federal court for monetary damages and broader relief that UDRP cannot reach, including statutory damages against serial squatters. We bring ACPA claims when the conduct warrants real consequences, and we defend domain owners against overreaching claims from trademark holders trying to seize legitimately held names.

Portfolio and Defensive Strategy

The cheapest dispute is the one you prevent. We help you build a defensive registration strategy that covers your core marks across the top-level domains and common misspellings that matter, without bleeding budget on every new TLD. We weigh which registrations earn their keep so your portfolio protects the brand instead of becoming a renewal bill you cannot justify.

Acquiring Premium Domains

When the name you want is already taken by a legitimate holder, recovery is off the table and acquisition is the play. We negotiate domain purchases discreetly, often through intermediaries to keep your identity and budget from inflating the price, and we paper the transfer cleanly. We also resolve disputes over high-value domains where ownership or prior agreements are contested.

Frequently asked questions

Cybersquatting is registering a domain name that incorporates someone else's trademark in bad faith, usually to sell it back to the trademark owner or to profit from confused consumers. A classic example is registering a misspelling of a well-known brand to capture its traffic. The bad-faith intent is what separates it from a legitimate registration.

UDRP is a faster administrative proceeding, but the only remedy is transfer or cancellation of the domain. ACPA is federal litigation that can get you monetary damages and may be the better route for borderline cases or when you want to deter a repeat offender. The choice usually comes down to whether you want speed and a simple transfer or a stronger, costlier remedy.

Evidence of bad faith includes a pattern of cybersquatting, an offer to sell the domain to you, registering it to block your legitimate use, or using it to create confusion for commercial gain. No single factor is required; the picture comes together from the registrant's conduct. We help assemble the evidence that fits the standard.

Usually 60 to 90 days from filing to decision, much faster than going to court. That speed is one of the main reasons to choose UDRP when a transfer is all you need. If you also want damages, though, the slower ACPA route may be worth it.

Yes, for your important marks across the TLDs that matter most. But you can't register every possible variation, so prioritize the spellings and extensions a squatter is most likely to target. Defensive registration is cheaper than a dispute, but only worth it where the risk is real.

The new TLDs bring both threats and opportunities, more places a squatter could register your mark, and more places you could establish your brand. We help you decide which extensions are worth defending or claiming and which you can safely ignore. The point is a deliberate strategy rather than chasing every new extension.

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