Practical Law Glossary Item 2-502-3830 (Approx. 3 pages)
Glossary
Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act of 1999 (ACPA)
An amendment (15 U.S.C. § 1125(d)) to the Lanham Act that creates a civil cause of action for owners of certain federally-protected trademarks against a person that both:
Registers, traffics in, or uses a domain name that:
is identical or confusingly similar to the mark; or
in the case of a famous mark, dilutes the mark.
Has a bad faith intent to profit from the mark.
The ACPA applies to the following types of trademarks (whether registered or unregistered) protected under the Lanham Act:
Marks that are distinctive or famous at the time the relevant domain name was registered.
Certain marks relating to the Red Cross and the Olympics.