Module 7 · 7.2
Typosquatting and disputes
Module 7: Keeping your domain safe and healthy · Reading time: 9 minutes
This lesson explains how things work on 10 November 2026. It is not legal advice. If you have a conflict over a name or trademark, ask a lawyer or trademark attorney.
Learning objective: After this lesson you can recognise typosquatting, decide which variants of your name to register yourself and explain which dispute procedures exist for each extension.
Key concepts: cybersquatting, typosquatting, defensive registration, redirecting, UDRP (WIPO), .nl Dispute Resolution Regulations (Geschillenregeling), .eu ADR, CEPANI for .be, DISPUTE-Eintrag for .de, bad faith
What is typosquatting?
With cybersquatting, someone registers a domain name that resembles another party's trademark or name. The aim is to sell that name, to obstruct the other party or to profit from their reputation. Typosquatting is one form of this: a name with a typo, to catch visitors who make a mistake.
The variants are predictable:
- a letter missing: examplebakry.example instead of examplebakery.example;
- a letter doubled: exxamplebakery.example;
- two letters swapped: exmaplebakery.example;
- a hyphen removed or added: example-bakery.example versus examplebakery.example;
- the same name with a different extension.
What can someone do with a name like that? They can put adverts on it, show a competitor's site, or send fake emails that look like yours at first glance. And there is a less well-known risk: email that customers send you with a typo in the address ends up with the holder of that variant. Think of quotes, invoices or passwords.
Which variants should you register yourself?
You can't register every variant. You have to renew, maintain and secure every name. So choose carefully. Defensive registration means registering a name to stop someone else from getting it, not to use it.
A practical order:
- Your main name on the extensions that make sense for your customers, for example your country extension, .com and .eu (lesson 2.2).
- The variant with and without a hyphen, if your name consists of two words.
- The one or two typos that really happen often. Look at words people spell differently.
- An old name you no longer use but that still receives links and email (lesson 7.4).
Have a defensive name redirect to your main name, using a permanent redirect (301). That way a visitor who makes a mistake still ends up in the right place. If you don't use the name for email, lock it down for email so nobody can use it to forge messages.
Add all defensive names to your domain register (lesson 7.4) and check every year whether you still need them.
Someone else has a variant of your name
If you discover that someone else has a name similar to yours, stay calm first. Not every similar name is bad intent. A bakery in Groningen may have the same name as one in Utrecht, and a trade name is only protected in the region where you are known.
So first check:
- what WHOIS or RDAP says about the name (lesson 4.1);
- whether the name is being used, and for what;
- whether you have a trademark yourself. Registering a domain does not in itself give you trademark rights (lesson 2.3). Most dispute procedures revolve precisely around a trademark or another protected name.
Record what you see, with screenshots and dates. You'll need this if you start a procedure.
Dispute procedures per extension
For many extensions there is a faster route than going to court. Situation as of November 2026:
| Extension | Procedure | What the complainant must prove | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| .com and other gTLDs | UDRP, for example at WIPO | name identical or confusingly similar to their trademark; holder has no rights or legitimate interest; name registered and used in bad faith | transfer or cancellation, no damages; at WIPO usually about two months |
| .nl | SIDN's Dispute Resolution Regulations, administered by WIPO | name identical or confusingly similar to a trademark, trade name or other listed name protected under Dutch law; no rights or legitimate interest; registered or used in bad faith | transfer to the complainant only |
| .eu | .eu ADR, at the Czech Arbitration Court or WIPO | a prior right (trademark, trade name, family name); holder acts speculatively or abusively | according to the decision |
| .be | procedure at CEPANI (CEPINA) | the same three conditions as for .nl | the name is "on hold" during the procedure |
| .de | no comparable procedure; you go to court | DENIC does offer the DISPUTE-Eintrag |
Note the difference between "and" and "or". Under the UDRP, the name must have been registered and used in bad faith. For .nl and .be, one of the two is enough.
The DISPUTE-Eintrag for .de. DENIC has no dispute procedure of its own. You can, however, request a DISPUTE-Eintrag (dispute entry) from DENIC. The holder may then keep using the name, but may not transfer it to someone else. If the name is deleted, you get it. The entry is valid for one year and can be extended. The dispute itself is settled by the court.
What is "bad faith"?
The procedures give examples. Someone registers a name mainly to sell it to the trademark holder or a competitor. Or to obstruct the trademark holder, or to mislead visitors and so make money from someone else's reputation. A typosquatter who registers a typo variant of a well-known brand and puts adverts on it often fits that picture.
Someone who uses a name in good faith for their own genuine business with that name usually does have a legitimate interest. That is exactly what many cases are about. That's why weighing it up is a job for a lawyer, not for this lesson.
In practice: how it works at WebOké
In Domain search you immediately see Other extensions for the same name next to your name. That shows you which variants are still available. You set up a redirect for a defensive name in My WebOké, on the Redirects tab (choose Permanent 301). If the name is in a hosting package, you arrange the redirect there. Other registrars work in a similar way: look for "redirect", "forwarding" or "doorsturing".
Summary
- Typosquatting is a form of cybersquatting using typos; misaddressed email then also ends up with someone else.
- Register selectively: your main name on your most important extensions, with and without a hyphen, and the typos people really make.
- Redirect defensive names with a 301 and add them to your domain register.
- The UDRP (gTLDs), the Dispute Resolution Regulations (.nl), .eu ADR and CEPANI (.be) are faster routes than going to court; for .de you go to court and can request a DISPUTE-Eintrag.
- Registering a domain does not give you trademark rights; most procedures revolve around a trademark or protected name.
Quiz
Exercise
Exercise A7.2: Typos of your domain. Enter your own domain name. Example names such as example.com are rejected. The program creates up to 12 typo variants of your name: a letter missing, a letter doubled, two letters swapped and the hyphen removed. It also puts the same name on .nl, .com, .eu, .de, .be and .net. For each name it sends one DNS query to the name servers: does the name exist or not.
The result is for information: you see for each variant whether it exists. The exercise turns green as soon as the list is ready. Then check for yourself which variants are yours, which belong to someone else, and which you would still like to register. You don't register anything in the exercise.
Further reading
- Create a domain forward/redirect (domain registration)
- Creating a redirect to another domain (hosting package)
- WIPO Guide to the UDRP: https://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/guide/
- Dispute Resolution Regulations for .nl domain names (SIDN): https://www.sidn.nl/en/nl-domain-name/dispute-resolution-regulations-for-nl-domain-names
- Domain name disputes (EURid): https://eurid.eu/en/manage-your-eu/domain-name-disputes/
- Typosquatting: which variants of your domain name should you register yourself?
- Domain name dispute: which procedure applies to each extension?