Clinton Signs Cybersquatting Law

By Karen Kaplan

Nov. 30, 1999 12 AM PT

Cybersquatting, the practice of registering an Internet domain name with the hopes of profiting due to its association with a trademark owned by someone else, can be punished by fines of between $1,000 and $100,000 under a law signed by President Clinton. The Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act seeks to stop people from registering Internet names that they will never use but hope to resell at inflated prices. The new law also imposes fines on those who register other people’s personal names with the intent of profiting from them. In addition, courts can also order the cancellation of Internet names that were registered in bad faith. The law applies to domain names that already have been registered as well as names registered in the future. “I don’t think it will stop all cybersquatting, but it will stop some of it,” said Jeff Riffer, a partner with the Los Angeles law firm of Jeffer, Mangels, Butler & Marmaro.

Technology and the Internet Business

Karen Kaplan

Karen Kaplan covers science and medical research for the Los Angeles Times. She has been a member of the science team since 2005, including 13 years as an editor. Her first decade at The Times was spent covering technology in the Business section as both a reporter and editor. She grew up in San Diego and is a graduate of MIT and Columbia University.

Clinton Signs Cybersquatting Law

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