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Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act of 1999 (ACPA)
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.
For more on ACPA claims, see Practice Note, Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) Claims.