A federal court in Northern California has awarded Verizon US$33.15 million in what the company is calling the largest cybersquatting judgment ever, Verizon announced Wednesday.
Verizon filed the case against OnlineNIC, a San Francisco-based Internet domain registration company, claiming it used Internet names--663 to be exact--that were chosen to be easily confused with legitimate Verizon names, according to Verizon.
It might hard, however, for Verizon to actually collect on the judgment, which was a default ruling, or one entered against a defendant who fails to answer a summons. No one appeared in court on OnlineNIC's behalf or in its defense, Verizon said.
ZDNet Asia's sister site CNET News.com was not able to get through to OnlineNIC by phone, and an e-mail request was not immediately answered. The company claims on its Web site that it's an ICANN-accredited registrar, but only through 2006. And the site offers a mailing address in Oakland, Calif., not San Francisco.
The award amount was calculated based on US$50,000 per domain name, Verizon said.
"This case should send a clear message and serve to deter cybersquatters who continue to run businesses for the primary purpose of misleading consumers," Sarah Deutsch, Verizon vice president and associate general counsel said in a statement. "Verizon intends to continue to take all steps necessary to protect our brand and consumers from Internet frauds and abuses."
Verizon, which says it's won a string of similar cases, is part of a nonprofit launched more than a year ago to campaign against cybersquatting.
This article was first published as a blog post on CNET News.com.
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