Government ‘cybersquatting’ case rattles India
Cybersquatting mischief is making headlines in India today, after the nation’s main opposition party accused the government of directing a confusingly similar domain name to its own site.
According to various reports, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party served a “legal notice” on the ruling Indian National Congress party over the domain name bjp.com.
The BJP hosts its primary site at bjp.org. According to the party, the .com domain has been redirecting users to the Congress’ own site. Today, it resolves to a page parked at Sedo.
The contested domain is currently registered behind eNom’s privacy protection service. It appears to have changed hands several times over the years, most recently to an Indian.
Unless the BJP has some other evidence connecting its rival to the domain, it looks like this may be a case of cheap political point-scoring.
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Dear Sir/Madam,
I am a student at IMT, Ghaziabad. I would like to get more information on the cybersquatting issue between Congress and BJP. I would be grateful if you could mail me the same. Thank you.
As of December 16, 2010, bjp.com now forwards to google.com. Its a pity, someone owning a 3-letter .com cannot use it properly, neither sell it.
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