Well, MOST domain name buyers are Cry Babies anyway! Many of these are very Uneducated about domain names. Since using Twitter.com, it has really helped me see how "end users" think about domain names, how they go about "buying" a domain name and lastly…. if they can’t get what they want, they CRY about it and call the domain owner a Squatter!!!!

Like davidrosen from twitter that states:

I hate when I need a domain name and someone has it and is not really using it. Squatters needs to be burned.

Or prohdusah had to say:

i just did a domain search for idontgiveatwit.com needless to say it’s taken by a squatter

I would bet most of the time that people are calling a domain owner a Squatter, that is not even remotely classified as a Squatter or a squat’able Domain!

So IMO, I wanted to write what I considered a Squat’able domain name. What is NOT a Squat’able Domain. What is a domain name Squatter and who is NOT a "Squatter".

What is a Squatter, aka Cybersquatting?

A squatter is an entity that owns a domain name that is misleading to a trademark, contains a trademarked term, contains a typographical error of a trademarked term and tries to profit from placing ads on a website, parking a domain displaying ads pertaining to the trademarked term, tries to sell a trademarked term for a profit or uses bad faith in acting if they are an entity they are not.

An example would be if an entity other then Nike owned the domain name NikeShoes.com (or in any extension). Nike is a registered trademark. Trying to sell the domain name NikeShoes.com to Nike, displaying "shoe" ads on the domain, creating a "shoe store", "clothing store" is showing bad faith while trying to profit from a trademark that is not owned by the orginal entity and would be considered cybersquatting.

What is NOT considered Cybersquatting?

Owning a "generic" term domain name that is not trademarked or that was owned and used before a trademark was put in place. Owning a domain name like WoodenChairs.com is a generic term that can not be shown with proof that one person or another "can" or "should" own it.

Since domain names are one of a kind items, the domain name becomes an investment like any other one of a kind pieces. The more interest in an item, many times raises the demand, which raises it’s value.

Does somebody else have the right to own My House? It’s a one of a kind piece which I paid for that that sits on land. If somebody wants to own my home, they need to come to an agreement with me to purchase it. Does this make me a squatter? NO! I have every right to own it!

How many "free lots" or "free homes" do you see for sale on your city streets? If you stop at a busy street corner and their is an empty building…. do you have the rights to that building? NO! The building was purchased and is owned by somebody that thought about buying it BEFORE you did. Does this make them a bad person or a smart business person? Is it right for you to call them something they are not?

Does this make you upset because you may not be able to purchase it? Likely.

The same thing goes for generic domain names. Just because a generic termed domain name is owned by an entity doesn’t mean they are a "squatter". In use as a full working website or not used currently really doesn’t matter. They own the domain and can do what they wish. Maybe they use the domain for email. Maybe they are working on a website and it’s just not up yet. Maybe they just want to hold it for now. It’s up to them, they OWN it. Just because a domain name that you "want", may not be for sale, doesn’t mean the owner is a "squatter".

Just because I own JamieZoch.com doesn’t allow some other person named Jamie Zoch to have the "right" to the domain name. If they had the term "Jamie Zoch" Trademarked for a specific reason, it may be a different case, but it would of had to been trademarked BEFORE I purchase the domain name and I would have to be using the domain name Currently in "bad faith" that pertained to their specific trademark. Secondly, I have the right to it, because I purchased it before anybody else. I am the owner.

Now if somebody else named Jamie Zoch wanted to purchase JamieZoch.com and I didn’t want to sell it, many times that person would turn around and call me a Squatter! Why, because they are a Cry Baby because they can’t own it! They got beat to the punch! They don’t want to pay for the one of a kind piece!

As the domain name owner, can I sell my investment if I choose? YES! Because I own it, it was MY investment and legally it’s my right.

So the next time you are thinking about calling somebody a "Squatter", you may reconsider if it’s not True and look at them as a Wise Business Person, that beat you to the punch! Plus calling somebody a squatter that really isn’t, saves you from looking like an Ass!