I have a site that gets a lot of traffic, the domain has a word on it that is very easy to misspell, well I just found out that somebody registered the mispelling of my domain and parked a page, and it is getting about 5% of my traffic. The mispelled word in the domain is a dictionary word, not a branded or unique word. I know that big brands like eBay, Godaddy etc usually win cases againts this type stuff, but is there something that a regular person can do or should I just let it go. Thanks
From the information provided, probably not. Since the word is a dictionary word, chances are that you have no claim on it as a common-law trademark. Of course, there are many times where dictionary words can be part of a trademark, and I understand why you don't want to list the URL. In any event, even if you do have a claim, it will cost a minimum of $1,000 to persue through courts or UDRP. Is it worth it? You could also try buying the domain. It might be cheaper, and it is definite.
I Agree, this would not be an easy matter to win based on domains being free for all. My suggestion is as above by the domain or list yours to prevent the issue. Another way would be to advise in the post to watch there spelling
Can you tell us the domain name? The reason I ask is because your question seems to imply that there are several words in the domain name and that one of the words is easily misspelled. Is that correct? You would be better off if you have some kind of registered trademark, but if the domain name is a phrase that could be registered then your pre-registration common law rights would be much stronger. You could then try and file for abitration through an ICANN approved dispute resolution provider. It would likely cost you about $1,500 (the price the last time I filed for someone through the World Intellectual Property Organization). That may be more than you could purchase the name for, so that probably should be the first action to take as others have suggested. Good luck. -Gene
Best option would be to buy the domain, it should cost less than what you would have to shell out for a court case.