by Traverse Legal, reviewed by Enrico Schaefer - March 22, 2013 - d. Domain Name Cybersquatting Law, Lawsuits & Cases
As an attorney who represents a number of hotel and resort chains around the world on UDRP and cybersquatting matters, I see hotel names as one of the primary areas of cybersquatting on the internet. Because of the number of vendors who feed off of the hotel, resort and hospitality industry, this particular industry segment is ripe for cybersquatting. Everyone from travel agents to typo-squatters like to divert traffic from hotel and resort domain names to thier own websites often with pay-per-click advertising links as the only content (parking pages).
As reported by thedomains.com, Euro Watergate Hotel Residences, LLC Watergate Holdings, LLC
recently files UDRP complaint with the World Intellectual Property Organization
(WIPO) against the registrant of the domain names thewatergatehotel.com and
watergatehotel.com. The domain name thewatergatehotel.com
was previously owned and registered to The Watergate Hotel back in 2003. More recently, the ownership of the domain
transferred to Rassul Hashemi of Virginia and despite the change of ownership in the domain name, the domain's DNS still seems to be pointing to a page allegedly created by The Watergate Hotel; a page that's been active since 2007 which
states:
“We are currently undergoing a
dramatic renovation and will not be accepting guests again until late 2009.
While we are creating the most luxurious hotel in Washington, we ask for your
patience.”“Please visit this site often for
updates on the work progressing at The Watergate Hotel. Should you have a
question or require additional information, please email us at info@thewatergatehotel.com.”
As a founding partner of Traverse Legal, PLC, he has more than thirty years of experience as an attorney for both established companies and emerging start-ups. His extensive experience includes navigating technology law matters and complex litigation throughout the United States.
This page has been written, edited, and reviewed by a team of legal writers following our comprehensive editorial guidelines. This page was approved by attorney Enrico Schaefer, who has more than 20 years of legal experience as a practicing Business, IP, and Technology Law litigation attorney.
