Domain Name Infringement

The SME focuses on manufacturing and selling industrial products mainly used in the automotive industry. Recently, the SME encountered a case of cybersquatting, a form of domain name infringement whereby an infringer registers a similar domain name with the intent of redirecting traffic to their own website. The SME owns a .com domain name, while a China-based company had registered a similar .com domain name with just one letter difference. The Chinese company is in the same industry as the SME and is using a similar domain name to redirect traffic to their own website benefitting from the EU SME’s brand reputation. The Chinese company, targeting the European market, might be selling their products at a cheaper price. The SME has repeatedly written to the domain administrator and while the website is taken down aſter the complaint from the SME, it appears back online soon thereaſter. The SME contacted the China IP SME Helpdesk to explore how to solve the issue.