Small business website domain owners are scrambling at the news that some domains they own might be in jeopardy with this new “anti-phishing bill” introduced, which if passed, could just be an avenue for companies or persons with more money than you, more known than you, to just swipe you from the face of the Internet.
Simply put, it would give anyone the right – anyone with enough money and power and some kind of souped-up case against your domain, and have the name trademarked – to just take you down. E.g. say someone has a site called example.com established and trademarked, and you now having created example101.com could see you having legal troubles. I’m not sure how this works, I would hope that it means they will go after sites that diliberately partake in copy-cating sites and squatting for gain and for mischievous reasons, and not for abuse of power which seems to be the tide of the world these days.
To read the bill go here, to help stop this bill contact your senator here, or your house representative here. (If it passes the senate it will go to the House.) There are many petitions on the internet also, just search online and you should find some.
Andrew Bluntblogger
(Just say what you mean)
