Most companies have little knowledge and understanding of domain tasting, cybersquatting or typosquatting. Most businesses don’t know their internet business, web traffic and revenue is being diverted each and every second of each and every day. Many are oblivious to the fact that their famous trademarks are under attack in cyberspace and that their customers are being diverted to their competitors.

John Levine is one of the most knowledgeable commentators on ICANN policy and domain issues. He has commented on domain tasting and offers one of the most cogent definitions of domain tastings I have read.

So-called domain tasting is one of the more unpleasant developments in the domain business in the past year. Domain speculators are registering millions of domains without paying for them, in a business model not unlike running a condiment business by visiting every fast food restaurant in town and scooping up all of the ketchup packets.

Since 2003, the contract between ICANN and each unsponsored TLD registry … has added an Add Grace Period (AGP) of five days during which a registrant can delete a newly registered domain and get a full refund. Although this provision was clearly intended to allow registrars to correct the occasional typo and spelling error in registrations, speculators realized that this allows them to try out any domain for five days for free.

As soon as the speculators (who call themselves “domainers”) figured this out, they started using automated software to register domains like crazy. They put up web pages full of pay-per-click ads, keep the few that make money during the five days, and refund the rest. Many of the speculative domains are expiring ones, since those might already be indexed in Google and have some traffic, others are slightly misspelled versions of existing domains to catch traffic from people who make typing errors.

Domain tasting is worse than bad. It is undermining the legitimacy of ICANN, legitimate domain monetization practices, public confidence in the internet and potentially internet commerce. Our corporate clients suffer the financial consequences of domain tasting and cybersquatting. Our legitimate domain monetization clients get stained by the mud being slung against any business that doesn’t have pre-existing trademark rights in a domain. The bad actors drag everyone down. ICANN needs to end domain tasting now.

Enrico Schaefer is the founding attorney of Traverse Legal, PLC, a law firm specializing in web law http://www.traverselegal.com You can find out more about protecting your domain name, UDRP arbitrations and anti-cybersquatting laws at Traverse Legal’s domain name theft and trademark blogs found at http://tcattorney.typepad.com/domainnamedispute/ - http://tcattorney.typepad.com/ip/