Did GOP Rep. JR Hoell just confess to an illegal cybersquatting scheme?
Last week we reported on a list of 36 web domains registered by state House Rep. JR Hoell that includes the names of many of the state’s prominent politicians. Hoell now admits he owns over 100 similar domain names. “I honestly see it as an investment, financially or politically,“ he told the Concord Monitor. The Dunbarton Republican said he may auction off some of the addresses. “Being tech savvy has value,” he bragged.
Hoell might want to check with his lawyer before making any more public confessions. A federal statute, ”Cyberpiracy Protections for Individuals,“ provides civil liability for anyone who registers someone else’s name with the specific intent to profit by selling it for financial gain. Remedies include forfeiture or cancellation of the domain name or the transfer to the claimant. The court may also award costs and attorneys fees.
In addition, some attorneys argue the Anti-cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA), which more commonly protects against trademark infringement, also protects personal names. Marc Randazza, a First Amendment lawyer and former law professor, makes the case that the ACPA not only applies to personal names but that it specifically applies to "politician cybersquatting.”
In his blog, The Legal Satyricon, Randazza describes a dispute between Pennsylvania politicians in which one candidate, Jason Gherghel, registered the domain name of his opponent, Melinda Kanter (MelindaKantner.com):
Gherghel’s registration and use of the domain name MelindaKantner.com appears to be a clear a violation the ACPA. The domain name is an exact reproduction of Kanter’s legal name, and he clearly registered it for profit. It currently generates pay-per-click advertising, and he also (clearly) registered it to deprive her campaign of the domain name. … Congress enacted the ACPA to combat this very type of behavior.
Penalties for violation of the APCA include forfeiture of the domain name and a fine of up to $100,000 for each domain name.