John Q I like this : "...going into a small, remote town, buying the general store and then closing it and waiting until someone is willing to buy it at a high price so that it can be re-opened" There is no benefit to the community at large it's just greed, and it would be stamped on if it wasn't a global internet problem.

Not sure how you can stop it but maybe capping the amount a domain can be transfered for might deter a few as it would mean they'd need to justify some other value in the transaction.

RE: Kitty K

Please refrain from comparing this to farm animals. It is NOT a fair comparison. Nor do Cybersquatting and domain parking increase traffic to a domain name. They actually do the opposite, as 1.) Google filters out such sites, putting your SEO at a disadvantage from the get-go, which actually results in a situation opposite to what you've described, and 2.) anyone who has landed on the site has most likely found something quite different from what they were looking for.

And no one should have to pay $20,000.00 for a domain name, which is what these squatters ask for some of the most commonly thought of domains.

In short, it's not capitalism. Capitalism benefits the consumer and the economy - this does neither. Nor is paying ~$15 for a domain then trying to pull thousands for it hard work. It is, indeed, a form of extortion. It goes unchecked because there are still so many gray and undetermined areas in the ethics of intellectual property. So, instead of calling people whiners, why don't you learn something about the internet and e-commerce before you go crazy at the keyboard.

My girlfriend wants to start up a small business online. After starting the business already with a name she chose carefully we find that the related domain name is being squatted (no website, never has been one!!). This is ridiculous, if the registrant is not using the domain they should be forced to release it.

Thanks for listening.

S. Stevenson, Australia

I agree. Kathleen

There is a major flaw in this petition, as stated "which is to stop the continuation of domain parking as an extortionist means that cause legitimate businesses to pay high price for the domain name." The problem is that when you venture out in domain name speculation, domain parking is one of the few legitimate ways of building up traffic for domain names. When a domain name goes up for auction it is not just the domain name that makes it a big seller, it has to have a very high volume traffic ranking. Legitimate businesses that do not have time to build up traffic for their site, go to the domain name auctions to buy the high traffic sites.

If a farmer buys a sickly calf, then invests time and patience in building up that calf into prize bull, is it extortion when the prize bull fetches close to a half million dollars at auction?

Please, do not sign this petition, because it will change the ways of capitalism, which is the hard work that a person does to gain a profit, to communism, where the whiners and slackers live off the hard work of the top 30 percent of the hardest workers.

History has shown the the economics of communism do not work.

I am trying to start an online community on literally a shoe-string budget. The names I was searching I was sure were too unique to have been registered, but I was wrong. Overall I have exhausted a list of about 12 names. And what makes it worse is that only 2 of the 12 are actually developed, the rest are parked, and that is the real crime here.

I've heard domain names are the new real estate, and having a real estate license, I have to agree. But there are some significant differences in that there are government bodies and regulations set up to encourage development so that land is put to the best and most efficient use. I don't see anything similar when it comes to domain names.

Call me crazy, but I don't think having the internet crammed with premium, parked domains that exist solely to sell advertising is the most effective use of the internet.

Signed

Squatting domains with no intention to use them is stifling companies that want to start businesses. I recently researched 5 variations of a name and was shocked to find every one, even grammatically incorrect variations were taken. Now I'm forced to come up with some random name like hulu, which will require my company to spend tons of money into marketing this name to associate it with the product.

I have worked in the entertainment internet world for a long time and was in charge of securing names for new shows and was appalled at how fast people would steal the names for movies they obviously were not going to produce... particularly those registered days after the film was announced. One of these squatters even had the audacity to offer it back for a premium sum.

The .com extension should be reserved for active businesses. Not pages with adsense all over them (which incidentally according to adsense rules is against the TOS). I think if you buy a .com name you will need to show intent to use the name appropriately within 6 months or forced to give it back.

It's speculation which is just a form of capitalism. Why not go after big money speculators who buy up houses that have been foreclosed on and resell them? Most domainers I know are just small business people, trying to earn a little extra money.

Domain parking is criminal.

Economically speaking, domain parking is wasteful. It also hurts the economy by stifling business. Commerce would benefit greatly by preventing this activity. And it's painfully obvious that there is little benefit to the economy in allowing the activity. Condemning squatting has been at the top of my list of problems with the internet since I first became a web developer.

Domain parking is criminal.

My first thought was that people can invest how they choose, but then I went looking for some useful domain names to create actual sites with and discovered that the majority of the registered domain names are parked. I would be interested in seeing statistics on how many registered domain names have sites associated with them vs how many are simply parked

The domainers have gotten a bit out of hand. I think it should be legal, but there shouldn't be huge companies registering millions of domains and squatting on them. I think that it should be okay to an extent.

I acknowledge that there's nothing illegal about domain name parking; there are perfectly valid reasons to park domains. Further, it might be next to impossible to legislate or otherwise control it.

What bothers me is that some uses of domain parking are just one more way people can turn a profit without contributing _anything_ to society while potentially hampering others ability to do so. It's simply taking advantage of scarcity of resource (relatively limited # of good, key site names for a given topic) for profit.

A lot of the analogies raised don't quite get to it (e.g. someone who buys a Ferrari receives value - even if only aesthetic if they choose not to drive it. And if you want one, you can buy one, also)

An alternate analogy, that's not a great fit, but goes towards the other extreme is that of going into a small, remote town, buying the general store and then closing it and waiting until someone is willing to buy it at a high price so that it can be re-opened.

Parking a domain with a good name that someone else could use and waiting for a high bidder is capitalism, pure and simple. Capitalism isn't bad - in fact it's very good. But I prefer it when it adds value, even in a small way, to society at large.

I'm sorry, but I have to concur with the original petition starter of Stop Domain Name Parking and Cybersquatting. How many times have you walked past an upper class American home, only to see a gorgeous Ferrari just sitting there collecting dust. I mean come on, these cars were made to be driven. I'm going to follow suit and start a petition that legally requires all individuals not using their luxury sports cars, to be forced to accept reasonable non extortionate offers if they haven't driven their car in the last 60 days.

We have generic product names resolve to our main company site. Big companies like P&G and Johnson & Johnson do this all the time. Many other big corporations do this as well. This is not "cybersquatting", it is smart marketing and as legitimate as SEO optimization of a website. A domain owner should be able to do whatever they wish with a name as long as it doesn't infringe on the Trademark rights of another. Our parked names redirect to our website, however, it we wanted to monetize parking on them with affiliate or paid link, that is a legitimate business use that should not be restricted.

The petition is poorly worded and does nothing that current laws and UDRP/WIPO rules don't already handle. Petition to get rid of TM infringement and domain tasting if you wish, but don't take the right of a domain owner to us a domain as they wish within legal bounds.

I think the whitehouse should go after the cybersquatters at http:/ /www.caralarms.com/ for redirecting ht tp://www.thewhitehouse.com/ to there website or would that be government interfierence?

What about domain tasting (registering a domain name, parking it at a monetization page to "taste" the revenue potential, and "returning" the name within five days without having to pay for it)? This is on the agenda for the ICANN meeting in San Juan this weekend.

It would be good if cybersquatting was fully supported and allowed.

Its the same thing as buying a house somewhere, paying the fees and rents, and then not using that house for something good, but trying to sell that house for a very high price to someone that wants that house.

Cybersquatters has to pay the domain fees like everyone other, so what's the problem?

The petition uses "Cybersquatting" as a button word to get an emotional response. Here is the legal definition of Cybersquatting...

"Buying a domain name that reflects the name of a business or famous person with the intent of selling the name back to the business or celebrity for a profit. The Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act of 1999 authorizes a cybersquatting victim to file a federal lawsuit to regain a domain name or sue for financial compensation. Under the act, registering, selling or using a domain name with the intent to profit from someone else's good name is considered cybersquatting."

In addition, companies can successfully sue typo-squatters for owning domains that are similarly confusing.

So Cybersquatting is NOT domain parking. Domain parking is an entirely legitimate use for a url, weather someone else finds it convenient or not. The domain IS being used, but perhaps not in a way someone else would want.

What this "petition" proposes is claim jumping, where an anonymous person x decides they have more use for a domain than the person who purchased it... sometimes at a premium.

Many times domains are monetized (the term for taking an idle domain and using it to make an income stream) while they await development.

If you make widgets, you DO NOT have the right to Widgets.com, no matter how righteous you FEEL about it. If you make "Toms Titanium Widgets" and are copyright or service marked, then you DO have a right to "TomsTitaniumWidgets.Com" and probably "TomsWidgets.Com".

This petition is idiotic, plays on emotions, and has no legal basis. It is a bad idea, and one that cuts both ways. If you buy a domain, it gets parked by the ISP. If you vote for this non-compus-mentus rag, I hope someone "more deserving" comes along and steals your domain!!!!