Cybersquatter Now Owes Donald Trump $32K Due To 4 Domain Registrations

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According to an article just posted by the NYpost.com, A “”Canarsie cybersquatter who registered domain names related to Donald Trump and used them to skewer the real estate magnate must pay him $32,000 in damages, a Brooklyn judge ruled””J. Taikwok Yung first drew Trump’s rage in 2007 when he registered four websites — trumpindia.com, trumpbeijing.com, trumpabudhabi.com and trumpmumbai.com.”

“The chronic domain collector — who lives with his mom and has $250 in his bank account — posted sporadic insults against his nemesis on the sites and offered scathing reviews of “The Apprentice.”

“The annoyed mogul initially offered Yung $400 to sign over control of the four sites, but later avalanched him with a $400,000 lawsuit after he refused that offer and demanded a bigger payout.”

“But instead of being a few hundred dollars richer, the cybersquatter will now face $32,000 in fines after magistrate judge Viktor Pohorelsky ruled in Trump’s favor.”

“The squatter previously warred with Merrill Lynch and Bank of America after he snatched up the domain name mlbofa.com after the finance giants announced their merger.

Young tried to demand a seven-figure price for the domain but his case was tossed from Manhattan federal court.”

Beyond the whole domain Cybersquatter thing, the article was particularly interesting to me because I was born and raised in Canarsie as well.

However I went in a different direction and have slightly more than $250 in my bank account and don’t live with any family members other than my wife and our two very spoiled Yorkie’s Romeo and Juliet.

About Michael Berkens

Michael Berkens, Esq. is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of TheDomains.com. Michael is also the co-founder of Worldwide Media Inc. which sold around 70K domain to Godaddy.com in December 2015 and now owns around 8K domain names . Michael was also one of the 5 Judges selected for the the Verisign 30th Anniversary .Com contest.

Comments

  1. Joseph Peterson says

    One more idiot adding to the public misperception of the domain aftermarket.

    Hopefully that $32k penalty will deter others.

  3. tom thurman says

    What exactly did he do that was illegal? You can use a domain with a trademark in it as a gripe site as long as there is no commercial intent (no monetization of site). This has gone to the courts numerous times and if done correctly your first amendment right “trumps” trademark law as long as you are not trying to cash in on the site.

    Also, if Trump made the first offer and it was an unsolicited offer than isn’t countering that unsolicited offer acceptable? I had thought that only when you reach out to the trademark owner in an attempt to sell the domain with their mark in it is when you are asking for trouble.

    Trump.net = for sale lander page (no ads)
    Trump.org = anti-Donald Trump political page (no ads)
    Trump.info = beginnings of content site about Donald Trump (no ads)
    Trump.me = parked (with ads)
    Trump.tv = redirects to Trump.org (no ads)

  5. Grim says

    It would be good (if that’s possible) for Trump’s image if he just tells the guy, I’ll drop the $32,000 in damages if you just accept the $400 offer I made earlier. Or better yet, just hand them over for nothing. If this guy only has $250 in his bank account, he likely has no chance of ever paying the fine. And it’s not like Trump really needs that kind of pocket change, anyway.