Ask HN: Is GoDaddy violating ACPA with new .family TLD?

13 points

10 years ago

A new TLD .family became available today. I went and checked for my name on various domains, and the only one that showed it available was GoDaddy, at the price of $1299/year - they mark it as a "Premium domain."

On 1and1 they displayed a 'legal reasons' message. When I called their support, the sales rep said a "big conglomerate" bought the domain.

I believe GoDaddy bought the domain (and probably others) during the pre-release period and is now selling it at their own "Premium" price.

Considering this domain is targeted at last names and family names (it could be used for whatever, but I think its intended purpose is apparent), I'm wondering if this violates the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act [1]

Specifically it mentions: > In determining whether the domain name registrant has a bad faith intent to profit, a court may consider many factors, including nine that are outlined in the statute: > 6. Registrant’s offer to transfer, sell, or otherwise assign the domain name to the mark owner or a third party for financial gain, without having used the mark in a legitimate site; > 9. Extent to which the mark in the domain is distinctive or famous.

Not to mention that GoDaddy could easily query their own userbase and find the most common last names in an attempt to profit.

Anyway, I'm not trying to whine as much as I am genuinely curious about the legality around this, as this domain in particular introduces its own grey area.

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anticybersquatting_Consumer_Protection_Act

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