Cybersquatting and Legislations: An exploration with reference to India

The practice of registering a domain name, which is likely to be desired by an entity, company,
or organization, with the intention of selling it for a profit to another person, company, or
organization is known as cybersquatting. It involves third parties that do not own any Trade
marks of Trade names but still registers themselves under the domain in their names to gain
profit. Practitioners of cybersquatting are often referred as Cybersquatters, who registers their
name in Trade marks and Trade names. Cybersquatters sometimes attempt to be the first to
register domain names for the purpose of selling the names to others. Some similar concepts also
originated after the concept of Cybersquatting i.e. Typosquatting, a variant of cybersquatting,
occurs “when a party registers a domain name that is very close to another’s trademark or name
for the purpose of capitalizing on an Internet user’s typographical errors when entering a web
address”. Similarly, cyberjesters” and “cyberzealots” attempt “to make humorous or political
statements about the trademark holder,” and “cyberpornographers” or “cyberopportunists” seek
“to capitalize on the goodwill of the trademark holder to steer internet users to pornographic web
sites”
Most of the businesses use their trademark as domain name.
Trademark vs Domain Name:
A Domain name is your website name. A domain name is the address where Internet users can
access your website. A domain name is used for finding and identifying computers on the
Internet. Computers use IP addresses, which are a series of number. However, it is difficult for
humans to remember strings of numbers. Because of this, domain names were developed and
used to identify entities on the Internet rather than using IP addresses. Each website has a unique
domain name through which it is accessed. They begin with ‘www.‘ followed by the unique
name like ‘xyz’ and ending with domain name extensions like '.com’, ‘.org‘, ‘.edu‘, ‘.net‘,
‘.ac.in‘, etc. Thus, the domain name appears like ‘www.xyz.com‘.
Whereas, Trademark can be any phrase, word, symbolic indication, identification, symbol,
design, combination of things that identifies your goods or services. Trade Mark is an exclusive
identity of the goods or services of the its owner. A Trade Mark is defined as “a mark capable of
being represented graphically and which is capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one
person. A registered Trade Mark distinguishes the goods and services of its owner from the
goods and services of his competitors. In India Trademarks are registered by the Ministry of
Industry and commerce after authorization of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and
Trademarks.
Thus, a Trade Mark is always seen in respect of the goods and services provided by its owner.
This is how a Trade Mark and a domain name is associated. Both are unique and seen in respect
of the goods and services provided by them. So, it will not be wrong if it is said that both, Trade
Marks and domain names are “identifiers”. The major difference between the Trademark and
Domain name is in the process of their registration, Trademarks goes through a complex process
which takes over a longer duration of time whereas domain name just requires some minutes and
a few bucks to spend. The registration process of domain name is not so complex because of the
issue of Cybersquatting is in practice.
In Manish Vij And Ors. Vs Indra Chugh And Ors. Supreme court discussed on the issue of
Cybersquatting and domain name wherein, it stated that the domain name "kabaaribazaar.com"
was earlier registered in the name of the defendant and not in the name of Mr. Amar Nath as
claimed in the plaint. The Plaintiffs have made a completely false and misleading statement of
their having contacted Amar Nath, who agreed not to launch a website using the domain name
"kabaaribazaar.com". The plaintiffs have copied the entire concept from the website "eby.com",
and held that “an act of obtaining fraudulent registration with an intent to sell the domain name
to the lawful owner of the name at a premium”, is unlawful.
Legal Framework for Cybersquatting in India:
One of the option available against cybersquatters in India is litigation in a court of law. The
court in India has also issued various injunction restraining cybersquatters from misusing domain
names. The prevalent way of getting compensation is through litigation in India with cases of
Cybersquatting. Some of the famous cases are, Tata Sons vs. Madhu Gupta: where In 2017,
Tata Sons filed a lawsuit against Madhu Gupta for cybersquatting on the domain name tata.net.
The Delhi High Court ruled in favor of Tata Sons and ordered Madhu Gupta to transfer the
domain name to Tata Sons. Similarly, In Times Group vs. Vijay Shekhar Sharma: In 2016,
Times Group filed a lawsuit against Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder of Paytm, for cybersquatting
on the domain name timespay.com. The case was settled out of court, and Vijay Shekhar Sharma
agreed to transfer the domain name to Times Group. Thus, litigation is one solution against
Cybersquatting, but litigation is a long driven and expensive process.
One landmark case which laid down the legislations for Cybersquatting in India was the case of
Tata sons Limited vs. Manu Kosuri case, wherein, Manu Kosuri, a resident of Virginia, USA,
registered the domain name "tatasucks.com," which he used to criticize the Tata Group of
Companies. Tata Sons Limited, the holding company of the Tata Group, filed a lawsuit against
Manu Kosuri in the Delhi High Court, alleging that he had engaged in cybersquatting by
registering a domain name that was identical or similar to its trademark. The Delhi High Court
ruled in favor of Tata Sons Limited and held that Manu Kosuri had registered the domain name
“tatasucks.com” in bad faith with the intention of exploiting Tata Sons’ trademark. The court
ordered Manu Kosuri to transfer the domain name to Tata Sons and also awarded damages to
Tata Sons. The Tata Sons Limited v. Manu Kosuri case was significant because it was the first
time that a cybersquatting case had been filed in India, and it established the legal framework for
addressing cybersquatting in the country.
Some of the major laws governing cybersquatting in India are primarily governed by the
Information Technology Act, 2000. This Act includes provisions that make cybersquatting
illegal and provide for legal remedies for victims of cybersquatting. Section 43(d) of the Act
defines cybersquatting as the unauthorized use of a domain name with an intention to deceive,
cause harm or to make an unlawful gain. The Act also provides for civil remedies for victims of
cybersquatting, including injunctions, damages, and transfer of the domain name. In addition to
the Information Technology Act, 2000, India also has the Trademarks Act, 1999, which provides
for the protection of trademarks and service marks. The Act prohibits the use of a trademark or
service mark by a third party without the owner’s consent. This Act also provides for the
cancellation of the registration of a trademark or service mark if it is found to be infringing on
someone else’s trademark or service mark.
Remedies by legislations for Cybersquatting:
Remedies can be granted by the courts or tribunals while adjudicating the case. Remedies can be
civil or either criminal in nature. Specially Remedies are granted for the Trademark
infringement, which involves Injunction / stay against the use of trademark, Appropriate
Damages, The infringer will be entitled to hand over the profits earned to the victim or
Appointment of a local commissioner by the court for custody or sealing infringing materials and
Application can file under Order 39 rule 1 & 2 of CPC for grant of temporary or ad interim ex-
parte injunction. All of these are the civil remedies available in case of trademark infringement,
criminal remedies can also be imposed i.e. Section 103 and 104 of the Trademark Act,1999
provides for imprisonment for a term not less than six months but which can extend to three year
and fine which will not be less than INR 50000/- which may extend to INR 200000/ or Criminal
Punishment for infringement of unregistered trademark is provided in Indian Penal Code, 1860.
Alongwith Section 105 of the Trademark Act, 1999 provides for excessive punishment for
trademark infringement and police have the authority to seize the power of the infringer.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, cybersquatting is a serious issue in India and can cause significant harm to
businesses and individuals. With the rise of e-commerce and the increasing dependence on
digital platforms, it is essential to have adequate legislation to protect intellectual property rights
and prevent cybersquatting. The Indian government has taken several measures to address this
problem, such as the introduction of the IT Act and the amendments to the Trademarks Act.
However, there is still a need for greater awareness and enforcement of these laws to effectively
combat cybersquatting. Businesses and individuals must also take proactive measures to protect
their online presence, such as registering domain names and monitoring for potential
infringements. Overall, the fight against cybersquatting requires a collaborative effort between
the government, businesses, and individuals to ensure a safe and secure digital environment.

-Ayush Parashar