JioHotstar domain controversy: What is cybersquatting and is it legal?
Cybersquatting is a form of cybercrime where the perpetrator buys or registers a domain name that is identical or similar to an existing domain with the intention of profiting from a recognisable trademark, company name, or personal name.
A techie from Delhi created quite a ripple on social media over the past couple of days after he registered the JioHotstar domain before the recently announced merger between JioCinema and Disney+Hotstar. In a note posted on the website, the developer had promised to sell the domain to Reliance Industries in exchange for them funding his education.
CREDIT: REUTERS
How JioHotstar domain controversy unfolded
This, however, did not go as the techie had planned, and Reliance threatened to take legal action against the developer for infringing on their trademark.
While insisting that he had not done anything illegal, the developer, who referred to himself as 'A Dreamer', said in a note he was giving up on the idea and thanked everyone who supported him after the news went viral.
He also mentioned that the JioHotstar website would soon go offline.
CREDIT:JIOHOTSTAR
Cybersquatting
Though the controversy seems to have ended with the developer throwing in the towel, the episode brings the focus back to an age-old practice on the internet.
Such practices are called domain squatting or cybersquatting, and just like in the case of the JioHotstar domain, the motive is money.
What is Cybersquatting
According to Kaspersky, cybersquatting is a form of cybercrime where the perpetrator buys or registers a domain name that is identical or similar to an existing domain with the intention of profiting from a recognisable trademark, company name, or personal name.
CREDIT: VERPEX
Crowdstrike defines cybersquatting as "the abusive practice of registering and using an internet domain name that is identical or similar to trademarks, service marks, personal names, or company names with the bad faith intent of hijacking traffic for financial profit, delivering malware payloads or stealing intellectual property".
Why cybersquatting is illegal
While those involved in such practices may claim domain squatting is legal, experts disagree. According to Kaspersky, cybersquatting is a form of cybercrime because of the bad faith intent of the squatter. Due to its nature, domain squatting can be considered a form of trademark infringement, though there are differences between the two.
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Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
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