Bad Faith Intent

Bad faith intent, in the context of domain name disputes, refers to the decision to register or use a domain name with the knowledge that it infringes upon the rights of a trademark holder, specifically for the purpose of profiting from that trademark's reputation. Legal frameworks such as the UDRP and the ACPA outline specific criteria to identify bad faith, including the intent to sell the domain to the trademark owner at an inflated price or the intent to divert traffic to a competitor.

Impact

The presence of bad faith intent is the primary requirement for successful domain recovery through administrative or legal channels. Without proving bad faith, a trademark holder cannot compel the transfer of a confusingly similar domain. Proving this intent requires a documented history of the registrant's activities and communications.

Weinto take

Sovereign engineering requires a proactive approach to evidence gathering. If your brand is being targeted by a squatter, do not initiate contact with an offer to buy; this can inadvertently validate their "legitimate" interest. Instead, maintain a contemporaneous record of the domain's usage (e.g., archived screenshots of phishing portals or parked pages). This documentation is necessary to establish the pattern of bad faith required by legal counsel to execute a successful UDRP recovery.

Availability

Baseline