Senate Unanimously Passes Cybersquatting Bill
 
September 1, 1999
 

On August 5, 1999, the Senate unanimously passed the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (S.1225). There is currently no House counterpart to S. 1255 and no House action on the bill. The purpose of S. 1255 is to allow trademark owners to recover statutory damages when it's proven that a trademarked name was registered by a person who intended to unfairly profit from the domain name. The bill also permits trademark owners to seek forfeiture, cancellation or transfer of an infringing domain name through in rem jurisdiction over the domain name if the court is satisfied that personal jurisdiction cannot be obtained over the person who registered the infringing trademark. Senators Hatch and Leahy amended the bill on the Senate floor just before passage to include the following liability standard for cybersquatting. "A person shall be liable in a civil action by the owner of a trademark or service mark if, without regard to the goods or services of the parties, that person has a bad faith intent to profit from that trademark or service mark and registers, traffics in or uses a domain name that in the case of a trademark or service mark that is distinctive at the time of registration of the domain name, is identical or confusingly similar to such mark, or in the case of a famous trademark or service mark that is famous at the time of registration of the domain name, is dilutive of such mark." Before trial, the plaintiff may elect to receive statutory damages in lieu of actual damages and loss of profits. The damages are up to $100,000 for each domain name. A domain name registrar is not liable in civil damages but is subject to injunctive remedies.