No Cybersquatting: Verizon Wins $33 Million Judgment

In what is being called the largest-ever judgment in a cybersquatting case, a California company has been ordered to pay Verizon more than $33 million for trying to "take advantage" of Verizon and its customers by using Internet domain names that could be easily confused with legitimate Verizon domains.

A federal court in the Northern District of California has issued a default ruling ordering San Francisco-based OnlineNIC to pay Verizon $33.15 million. According to documents, OnlineNIC had unlawfully registered at least 663 domain names that were either "identical to or confusingly similar to Verizon trademarks."

The court ruled that OnlineNIC's bad-faith registrations of Verizon-related domain names were "designed to attract Web users who were seeking to access Verizon's legitimate Web sites." The court calculated Verizon's award based on $50,000 per domain name.

Neither OnlineNIC nor counsel representing the company appeared in court to fight the allegations.

"This case should send a clear message and server to deter cybersquatters who continue to run businesses for the primary purpose of misleading customers," Verizon vice president and associate general counsel Sarah Deutsch said in a statement. "Verizon intends to continue to take all steps necessary to protect our brand and customers from Internet frauds and abuses."