Pryor Cashman Counsel Ryan Klarberg, a member of the firm's Intellectual Property, Media + Entertainment, Digital Media, and Litigation Groups, spoke with CDR Magazine about why internet domain names are a fertile area for legal disputes.
In "What's in a (domain) name?," Ryan talks to reporter Robert Li about how companies are highly aware of the importance of their online presence:
It is a sentiment echoed by Pryor Cashman's IP, media and digital media litigation counsel Ryan Klarberg in New York, who has previously acted for the performance artist Lady Gaga on domain name-related proceedings: "Companies recognise the value of the Internet for selling and marketing goods and services, and a critical part of that is owning a domain name that consumers can recognise, type into a web browser and visit the website."
He adds: "The area is ripe for disputes given the increase in usage of the Internet especially in the past decade, with many disputes arising because of bad actors registering domain names and attempting to trade on the goodwill of a brand."
Ryan also notes that companies need to be strategic in choosing domain names if they want to avoid litigation over their website addresses, saying "When searching for domain names to register, always aim not to usurp existing third-party rights. Do your own due diligence and see how the terms in the domain names are being used by conducting a simple web search, and then ensure you are not registering or using a domain name in a way that could be considered in bad faith."
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