What is ACPA?
The Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) is a US law. It prevents users from registering domains associated with existing trademarks or personal names with the intention of not using them. “Squatters” often purchase these domains for re-selling them to trademark owners.
More About ACPA
The ACPA was passed in 1999 to deal with a rising number of cybersquatting incidents. The ACPA is part of the Lanham Act, which is the primary statute that deals with trademarks in the US. The same year also saw the enactment of the ICANN’s Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP).
The ACPA outlines what constitutes “bad faith” domain name registration. Under the ACPA, if a domain name is registered under bad faith, the owner of the associated trademark has grounds for a civil suit. Generally speaking, the ACPA only applies to well-known trademarks. This is because it’s harder to prove bad faith for domain names associated with relatively unknown businesses or individuals.
