The easy and the not-easy pieces: trademarks and Internet advertising

Cybersquatting is defined as the act of registering and using a domain name with bad faith intent to profit from the goodwill of someone else's trademark. Classic evidence of bad faith intent to profit is the ransom of a domain name to the rightful trademark owner. The virtual marketplace of the Web has achieved near equality with bricks-and-mortar malls. As Internet marketing has become more sophisticated, so has unauthorized trademark use. Appreciating that an indirect or invisible use of another's mark can lure Internet searchers away from a trademark owner's goods or services, courts may more closely examine the functional role of indirect trademark uses. The emerging doctrine of initial interest confusion may overcome judicial angst in non-URL trademark uses.