Squatters' sites: Domain disputes hamper businesses | City Journal

Squatters are taking over domain names on the internet. Photo: Shakakahnevan
While online business usage has increased dramatically in the past decade, so has the practice of ?squatting?.
Squatting, also known as ?parking?, refers to people who purchase domain names but leave them unattended until the domain name is in demand by businesses.
When the demand is high enough, the squatter will sell it to the highest bidder for a handsome profit.
Internet entrepreneurs who saw an opportunity when domain names first became readily accessible in the late 1990s are able to sit on a valuable name for as long as they choose, provided they pay their annual fee to the host who is keeping the website running.
Melbourne IT domain salesman Alex Oxford said not being able to secure a desired domain name is an inconvenience for companies moving online.
?Terabytes of data are going unused, but due to the age of big data and protectionism we are seeing websites with no traffic still in existence,? Mr Oxford said.
?That?s why we?ve seen the introduction of domain names such as the ?.co.asia?, amongst others, being put in place by the global regulator, because some people are hogging the good domain names and won?t let go.?
The global regulator, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), is responsible for managing domain names.
Mr Oxford said businesses aren?t getting enough protection from parking, and squatters can charge thousands of dollars for a desired domain name.
The domain name ?www.sex.com? was sold in 2010 for $US13 million ($AUD 12.4 million) according to businessinsider.com.
But Mr Oxford was most concerned about businesses losing brand value.
?In terms of the amount of unused domains and squatters there needs to be legislation protecting brands,? he said.
?Domain names are basically a marketing tool used by organisations to protect a brand. As internet and online fraud continues to grow it is becoming imperative for organisations to ensure their brand isn?t being tarnished.?
Website host Garvin Wu said some hosts had multiple domain names, and leaving a domain name unused was very cheap to do.
?If people don?t pay then some hosts will kill the domain completely, but other hosts will just leave it unused,? Mr Wu said.
?A host can really leave hundreds of domain names unused and let them sit there because it doesn?t cost them much.?
Some websites are devoted to listing domain names which have been ?parked?.
Domaininformer.com has?a list of the top 75 domain names being squatted, including names like ?technology.com?, ?marry.com? and ?wireless.com?.
?It means that if people come along later trying to use that domain name, someone who owns it can ask for more money,? Mr Wu said.
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Produced by Kieran Jones
Source: http://thecityjournal.net/news/squatters-sites-domain-disputes-hamper-businesses/
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