Typosquatting
Encyclopedia
Typosquatting, also called URL hijacking, is a form of cybersquatting
, and possibly brandjacking
which relies on mistakes such as typographical error
s made by Internet users when inputting a website address into a web browser
. Should a user accidentally enter an incorrect website address, they may be led to an alternative website owned by a cybersquatter.
will usually be one of four kinds, all similar to the victim site address:
(In the following, the intended website is "example.com
")
Once in the typosquatter's site, the user may also be tricked into thinking that they are in fact in the real site; through the use of copied or similar logos, website layouts or content.
, and Lego
. Lego, for example, has spent roughly $500,000 USD on taking 309 cases to UDRP.
Celebrities have also frequently pursued their domain names, from singers to star athletes. Prominent examples include Basketball player Dirk Nowitzki's UDRP of DirkSwish.com and actress Eva Longoria's UDRP of EvaLongoria.org .
An example of corporate typosquatting is yuube.com, targeting YouTube
users. Similarly, www.airfrance.com has been typosquatted by www.arifrance.com, diverting users to a website peddling discount travel.
(ACPA) contains a clause (Section 3(a), amending 15 USC 1117 to include sub-section (d)(2)(B)(ii)) aimed at combatting typosquatting.
However, on April 17, 2006, controversial evangelist Jerry Falwell
failed to get the U.S. Supreme Court to review a decision allowing Christopher Lamparello to use "www.fallwell.com". Relying on a plausible misspelling of Falwell's name, Lamparello's gripe site
presents misdirected visitors with scriptural references that counter the fundamentalist preacher's scathing rebukes against homosexuality
. In Lamparello v. Falwell
, the high court let stand a 2005 Fourth Circuit
finding that "the use of a mark in a domain name for a gripe site criticizing the markholder does not constitute cybersquatting."
(UDRP), trademark
holders can file a case at the World Intellectual Property Organization
(WIPO) against typosquatters (as with cybersquatters in general). The complainant has to show that the registered domain name is identical or confusingly similar
to their trademark, that the registrant has no legitimate interest in the domain name, and that the domain name is being used in bad faith
.
Cybersquatting
Cybersquatting , according to the United States federal law known as the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, is registering, trafficking in, or using a domain name with bad faith intent to profit from the goodwill of a trademark belonging to someone else...
, and possibly brandjacking
Brandjacking
Brandjacking is an activity whereby someone acquires or otherwise assumes the online identity of another entity for the purposes of acquiring that person's or business's brand equity. The term combines the notions of 'branding' and 'hijacking', and has been used since at least 2007 when it appeared...
which relies on mistakes such as typographical error
Typographical error
A typographical error is a mistake made in, originally, the manual type-setting of printed material, or more recently, the typing process. The term includes errors due to mechanical failure or slips of the hand or finger, but usually excludes errors of ignorance, such as spelling errors...
s made by Internet users when inputting a website address into a web browser
Web browser
A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...
. Should a user accidentally enter an incorrect website address, they may be led to an alternative website owned by a cybersquatter.
Overview
The typosquatter's URLUniform Resource Locator
In computing, a uniform resource locator or universal resource locator is a specific character string that constitutes a reference to an Internet resource....
will usually be one of four kinds, all similar to the victim site address:
(In the following, the intended website is "example.com
Example.com
Example.com, example.net, example.org, and example.edu are second-level domain names reserved for documentation purposes and examples of the use of domain names....
")
- A common misspelling, or foreign language spelling, of the intended site: exemple.com
- A misspelling based on typing errors: xample.com or examlpe.com
- A differently phrased domain name: examples.com
- A different top-level domainTop-level domainA top-level domain is one of the domains at the highest level in the hierarchical Domain Name System of the Internet. The top-level domain names are installed in the root zone of the name space. For all domains in lower levels, it is the last part of the domain name, that is, the last label of a...
: example.org
Once in the typosquatter's site, the user may also be tricked into thinking that they are in fact in the real site; through the use of copied or similar logos, website layouts or content.
Examples
Many companies have garnered reputations for ruthlessly chasing down typosquatted names, including Verizon, LufthansaLufthansa
Deutsche Lufthansa AG is the flag carrier of Germany and the largest airline in Europe in terms of overall passengers carried. The name of the company is derived from Luft , and Hansa .The airline is the world's fourth-largest airline in terms of overall passengers carried, operating...
, and Lego
Lego
Lego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...
. Lego, for example, has spent roughly $500,000 USD on taking 309 cases to UDRP.
Celebrities have also frequently pursued their domain names, from singers to star athletes. Prominent examples include Basketball player Dirk Nowitzki's UDRP of DirkSwish.com and actress Eva Longoria's UDRP of EvaLongoria.org .
An example of corporate typosquatting is yuube.com, targeting YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
users. Similarly, www.airfrance.com has been typosquatted by www.arifrance.com, diverting users to a website peddling discount travel.
In United States law
In the United States, the 1999 Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection ActAnticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act
The Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act ', 15 U.S.C. § 1125, is an American law enacted in 1999 and established a cause of action for registering, trafficking in, or using a domain name confusingly similar to, or dilutive of, a trademark or personal name...
(ACPA) contains a clause (Section 3(a), amending 15 USC 1117 to include sub-section (d)(2)(B)(ii)) aimed at combatting typosquatting.
However, on April 17, 2006, controversial evangelist Jerry Falwell
Jerry Falwell
Jerry Lamon Falwell, Sr. was an evangelical fundamentalist Southern Baptist pastor, televangelist, and a conservative commentator from the United States. He was the founding pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, a megachurch in Lynchburg, Virginia...
failed to get the U.S. Supreme Court to review a decision allowing Christopher Lamparello to use "www.fallwell.com". Relying on a plausible misspelling of Falwell's name, Lamparello's gripe site
Gripe site
A gripe site is a type of website devoted to the critique and or mockery of a person, place, politician, corporation, or institution. They are also known as "complaint" or "sucks" sites...
presents misdirected visitors with scriptural references that counter the fundamentalist preacher's scathing rebukes against homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
. In Lamparello v. Falwell
Lamparello v. Falwell
Lamparello v. Falwell, 420 F.3d 309, is a legal case heard by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit concerning cybersquatting and trademark infringement...
, the high court let stand a 2005 Fourth Circuit
United States circuit court
The United States circuit courts were the original intermediate level courts of the United States federal court system. They were established by the Judiciary Act of 1789. They had trial court jurisdiction over civil suits of diversity jurisdiction and major federal crimes. They also had appellate...
finding that "the use of a mark in a domain name for a gripe site criticizing the markholder does not constitute cybersquatting."
WIPO resolution procedure
Under the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution PolicyUniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy
The Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy is a process established by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers for the resolution of disputes regarding the registration of internet domain names...
(UDRP), trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
holders can file a case at the World Intellectual Property Organization
World Intellectual Property Organization
The World Intellectual Property Organization is one of the 17 specialized agencies of the United Nations. WIPO was created in 1967 "to encourage creative activity, to promote the protection of intellectual property throughout the world"....
(WIPO) against typosquatters (as with cybersquatters in general). The complainant has to show that the registered domain name is identical or confusingly similar
Confusing similarity
In trademark law, confusing similarity is a test used during the examination process to determine whether a trademark conflicts with another, earlier mark, and also in trademark infringement proceedings to determine whether the use of a mark infringes a registered trade mark.In many jurisdictions...
to their trademark, that the registrant has no legitimate interest in the domain name, and that the domain name is being used in bad faith
Bad faith
Bad faith is double mindedness or double heartedness in duplicity, fraud, or deception. It may involve intentional deceit of others, or self deception....
.
See also
- Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection ActAnticybersquatting Consumer Protection ActThe Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act ', 15 U.S.C. § 1125, is an American law enacted in 1999 and established a cause of action for registering, trafficking in, or using a domain name confusingly similar to, or dilutive of, a trademark or personal name...
- Bitsquatting
- Damerau–Levenshtein distance
- DNSDomain name systemThe Domain Name System is a hierarchical distributed naming system for computers, services, or any resource connected to the Internet or a private network. It associates various information with domain names assigned to each of the participating entities...
- Doppelganger DomainDoppelganger DomainA Doppelganger Domain is a domain spelled identical to a legitimate fully qualified domain name but missing the dot between host/subdomain and domain, to be used for malicious purposes.-Overview:...
- IDN homograph attackIDN homograph attackThe internationalized domain name homograph attack is a way a malicious party may deceive computer users about what remote system they are communicating with, by exploiting the fact that many different characters look alike,...
- MousetrappingMousetrappingMousetrapping is a technique used by some websites to keep visitors from leaving their website, either by launching an endless series of pop-up ads—known colloquially as a circle jerk—or by re-launching their website in a window that cannot be closed Mousetrapping is a technique used by some...
- PhishingPhishingPhishing is a way of attempting to acquire information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Communications purporting to be from popular social web sites, auction sites, online payment processors or IT...
- UDRPUniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution PolicyThe Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy is a process established by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers for the resolution of disputes regarding the registration of internet domain names...
External links
- Jim Giles: Typos may earn Google $500m a year New ScientistNew ScientistNew Scientist is a weekly non-peer-reviewed English-language international science magazine, which since 1996 has also run a website, covering recent developments in science and technology for a general audience. Founded in 1956, it is published by Reed Business Information Ltd, a subsidiary of...
, 17 February 2010 (reporting research by Ben Edelman and Tyler Moore: Measuring Typosquatting Perpetrators and Funders)