F. Curtis Barry & Company’s Multichannel Operations & Fulfillment Blog

From McGuire Woods’ Technology & Business eNewsletter - 1-18-2007

A new scam involving domain name registration has been reported among a number of clients of the firm in recent weeks. The client receives an email, or in some cases a telephone call, from a domain name registrar outside the U.S. (often in China or in the U.K.) who “alerts” the client to an attempt by a third party to register a domain name containing the client’s registered trademark.

The domain registrar often suggests that they are contacting the client because they have a “duty” to do so in light of the alleged attempt by another to register a domain that may infringe the client’s trademark rights. They then offer the client the opportunity to preemptively register the domain. In some cases the story is quite elaborate. We have been working together with local counsel in China, in particular, to identify these scams.

Thus far, in cases where we have advised clients of the hoax and they have ignored the “alert”, the domain names in question have never been registered by a third party. It seems clear that the “third party customer” is a pretext to create a sense of urgency with the client and generate revenue for the domain registrar.

In cases where a client wishes to preemptively register domain names to prevent their use by others, particularly names with top level domains for foreign countries (.cn for China, .mx for Mexico, etc.) we recommend use of known, reputable registrars and can provide contact information for these.

Learn more at www.mcguirewoods.com or to contact McGuire-Woods’ closest office to your location.

McGuireWoods LLP provides a variety of legal services from 15 domestic and foreign offices. Through its subsidiaries, McGuireWoods Consulting LLC and McGuireWoods Capital Group, the firm provides ancillary business and consulting services.