If you own a trademark and find that someone is holding it as a domain name until you pay a large sum for it, you may be the victim of cybersquatting. You can either sue to get your domain name -- and possibly some money damages -- under a 1999 federal law known as the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, or you can initiate arbitration proceedings under the authority of the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and win the name back without the expense and aggravation of a lawsuit.

The practice that's come to be known as cybersquatting originated at a time when most businesses were not savvy about the commercial opportunities on the Internet. Some entrepreneurial souls registered the names of well-known companies as domain names, with the intent of selling the names back to the companies when they finally woke up. Panasonic, Fry's Electronics, Hertz and Avon were among the "victims" of cybersquatters. Opportunities for cybersquatters are rapidly diminishing, because most businesses now know that nailing down domain names is a high priority.

A victim of cybersquatting in the United States can now sue under the provisions of the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) or can fight the cybersquatter using an international arbitration system created by the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). The ACPA defines cybersquatting as registering, trafficking in or using a domain name with the intent to profit in bad faith from the goodwill of a trademark belonging to someone else. The ICANN arbitration system is considered by trademark experts to be faster and less expensive than suing under the ACPA, and the procedure does not require an attorney.

The two options described above, will not only cost money but will take time (average 6 weeks). The Domain Name Recovery service Pretection International offers not only takes less time (average two weeks), but will cost a lot less and will keep the client anonymous. These three advantages make this service a highly preferred option for clients which value their trademark and brand name.