Domain investing
Buying domain names in hopes of later resale is a business model. Whether a particular registration violates someone's legal rights depends on the facts, not merely the existence of a resale price.
Terminology matters
“SQUATTING” IS EASY TO SAY. THE LAW IS NARROWER.
A domain can be parked, held for resale, or priced aggressively without automatically satisfying the legal standards used in trademark-based domain disputes.
UDRP
THE TRADEMARK DISPUTE TEST HAS SPECIFIC ELEMENTS.
WIPO's guide to the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy explains that a complainant generally must establish that the domain is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark in which the complainant has rights, that the registrant lacks rights or legitimate interests, and that the domain was registered and is being used in bad faith.
That is why this site uses descriptive labels first. “For sale,” “parked,” “redirected,” and “developed” are observable states. “Cybersquatting” can be a legal characterization that requires facts we may not have.
Parking
Parking describes use or non-use of the domain. It does not by itself prove bad faith, infringement, or unlawful conduct.
UDRP bad faith
WIPO lists examples of circumstances that panels may treat as evidence of bad-faith registration and use, including certain trademark-targeted resale conduct. Those examples operate inside the UDRP's full legal test.
Our editorial criticism
We can criticize the economics and social effects of lawful domain warehousing without pretending every criticized registration is legally abusive cybersquatting.
Research before labels
BRING US THE DOMAIN. WE'LL START WITH WHAT CAN BE PROVED.
Keep digging
RELATED GUIDES
What is a parked domain?
Understand what a parking page proves and what it does not.
Buying from a reseller
A practical checklist for documenting and evaluating an aftermarket offer.
Domain front running
What the term means and how to preserve a suspicious availability timeline.