Hank Fasthoff has been handling domain name disputes since before the turn of the century. His clients in the field include some of the largest Fortune 500 companies, celebrities, recording artists, professional athletes and other trademark owners.

Domain Name Lawyer Services

Domain name lawyer services provided by the Fasthoff Law Firm include:

  • Identification of infringing domain names through domain name audits
  • Drafting and sending demand letters to cybersquatters
  • Filing and prosecuting domain name disputes in arbitration proceedings and federal court
  • Proactively identifying and registering permutations of clients’ trademarks
  • Managing domain name portfolios for global brands, celebrities and other trademark owners
  • Advising clients on sunrise registration periods, Trademark Clearinghouse and similar proactive registration matters
  • Negotiating and drafting domain name purchase and sale agreements

Cybersquatting

Cybersquatters use a variety of tactics to exploit the fame and goodwill associated with trademarks, particularly those owned by national and global brands. Some common cybersquatting activities and domain name scams include:

  • Registering domain names embodying the trademarks of third parties (usually well known brands or celebrities) and attempting to sell them to the trademark owner
  • Using domain names to set up parking pages containing advertisements, for which the domain registrant receives a commission or fee each time the advertisement is clicked or the page is viewed
  • Setting up job search websites or job offer websites using the infringing domain name, websites that feature the client’s trademarks and purport to offer available jobs and careers from the trademark owner, in order to perpetrate phishing scams on “job applicants”
  • As part of phishing scams, communicating with victims with emails embodying the clients trademark in the infringing domain name
  • Nigerian 419 scams
  • Emailing the trademark owners executives or executive committees threatening to use the domain name for illicit purposes or simply offering to sell the infringing domain name to the company
  • Scams that typically originate with registrars in China in which a Chinese registrar seeks to cause trademark owners to believe that a third party is attempting to register infringing domain names in an effort to induce the rightful trademark owner to register domains with the registrar.

Hank Fasthoff is a highly experienced domain name attorney, having recovered hundreds of infringing domain names and shut down numerous phishing scams that tend to tarnish a brand’s trademarks, goodwill and image, and pose the threat of a public relations nightmare.

Often times infringing domain names can be recovered by sending demand letters to cybersquatters, but other times resorting to arbitration proceedings before the World Intellectual Property Organization, The Forum or other domain name dispute resolution providers is necessary.

Domain Name Portfolio Management

Through his extensive experience as a domain name attorney, Hank Fasthoff has developed a system for proactively identifying and registering domain names (on behalf of his clients) that contain various permutations of his clients’ trademarks in an effort to mitigate cybersquatting activities and phishing scams made possible through the registration and use of infringing domain names.

The most common victims of cybersquatting include energy companies, banks, insurance companies, luxury goods companies, automotive companies and celebrities. Often times companies are unaware of what is happening online with infringing domain names. Hank will provide initial domain name audits in an effort to identify existing infringing domain names.

If your brand has been a victim of cybersquatting activities, Nigerian 419 scams or phishing scams such as those identified above, contact the Fasthoff Law Firm to learn more about Hank’s domain name portfolio management services.

In Depth Experience and Legal Knowledge

With more than 23 years of experience representing clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to celebrities to small business owners and entrepreneurs, the Fasthoff Law Firm and its domain name lawyer are able to guide clients through the subtle and nuanced world of domain name law, trademark law and other intellectual property rights. For more information on Hank’s experience with trademark litigation and other intellectual property litigation, click here. Feel free to contact the firm now to learn how we can you and your business.

Representative Clients

Some of the clients for whom Hank has provided representation and legal services include:

Contact the Fasthoff Law Firm Today

Intellectual property rights are mostly a matter of federal law, so the Fasthoff Law Firm is able to assist clients from around the country. Contact Fasthoff Law Firm, an intellectual property law firm with offices in Houston and The Woodlands, to learn more about how your trademark rights and intellectual property rights can be protected and enforced by a domain name lawyer so as to help maximize their value in your business.

Hank is AV-rated (highest) by Martindale-Hubbell, is a Top Rated Intellectual Property Attorney by Texas Super Lawyers®, was ranked for five consecutive years as a Texas Super Lawyers® Rising Star in the fields of Entertainment and Intellectual Property, and has been ranked from 2013-present by US News & World Reports’ Best Lawyers® Litigation – Intellectual Property Litigation.