Are Domainers CyberSquatters ?

 This is a new year and I just need to say my views to clarify the issue of cybersquartting as it affects domainers. Though, it was an old understatement to call domain investors names. Many people do not agree that domain business is one of the legitimate online businesses; instead, they compare domain investors to cyber squatters. But the business is like buying and selling of land. They refer to domain investors as cyber squatters, as if there is no any right for anybody to buy and sell domain names. 

Domain investors who does not register trademarked domains and typos should be exempted from the so called cyber squatters, because they are doing a legitimate business. I do not believe in cyber squatting for it is not a good idea and more so, there is anticybersquatting law in place. 

 The domain registrar or registry and the domain registrant are not liable to any injunction nor monetary challenge, except when the domain is trade marked or used in bad faith or reckless disregard.

Domain Name as a landed Property

But when you are talking of buying a land or plot of land for your business or residential homes, they believe such is the only right approach; simply because people have accepted it that way.

People who thought domain names trading - the virtual real estate property trading is illegitimate, should remember that once upon a time, lands are acquired by first person, family or clan to settled in a particular place  owns and name the land, except when it is seized from them by power of force, such as war or government authority. 

Land ownership according to context.org is a bundle of rights. 

The first step is to recognize that, rather than being one thing, what we commonly call “ownership” is in fact a whole group of legal rights that can be held by some person with respect to some “property”. In the industrial West, these usually include the right to:

·         Use the land (or not use);

·         Exclude others from using;

·         Irreversible change;

·         Sell, give away or bequeath;

·         Rent or lease;

·         Retain all rights not specifically granted to others;

·         Retain these rights without time limit or review. Etc read more about land ownership

 Therefore the above concepts, shows the procedure in which one can legitimately possess land, and can be sold by the owners, if so wish. I see no reason why people should think acquisition of domain names should be seen as illegitimate business.

Domain investors suffers as much as someone who acquires lands; it takes a lot of money to buy lot and lots of scraps before getting a good one, it cost average of ten dollars to register a .com in the recent time, but one can register more than hundreds of chit domains before getting a chip or good ones. Even though, after having a good one; it costs a lot of money for annual renewals before getting one end user to buy the domain from the owner.

Okay, I still don’t understand why people should say domain business is illegitimate. I studied through the registration agreement issued by every registrar on many occasions; I have never seen anything that proves the business wrong except when bought a trade marked or typo domain or used wrongly. I have seen many people tried to steal domains from the owners by means of legal institutions (URDP), some have failed and some have robbed  the right owners of their legitimate virtual properties. 

See Registrant Right and Responsibilities by ICANN