Fight over “Google Coronavirus” domain name — Google wins
Man agrees to give domain name to Google following facing cybersquatting complaint.
A Massachusetts man who registered GoogleCoronavirus .com has agreed to hand it over to Google following the firm filed a cybersquatting complaint.
Ben Ghosh registered the domain—at Google Domains, no less—on March 13. Google filed a cybersquatting complaint with National Arbitration Forum just three days later.
The domain name had a basic WordPress installation with no additional content.
Rather than fight the case, Ghosh consented to transfer the domain name to Google.
Firms have been registering domain names counting their brands and terms like coronavirus and Covid-19 to protect against cybersquatting. For example, Facebook registered over 500 domain names counting its brands and these terms.
It’s almost impossible to register every possible permutation. It probably makes sense for sizable websites to register obvious domains like brandCoronavirus. Beyond that, they can turn to cybersquatting mechanisms under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolutions Policy to get control of domains that people register.
Google also filed a case against CoronavirusGoogle .com, which was registered by Walter Lafky of Oregon. That case is still pending.
