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UnFAIR Competition

Cybersquatting is one of those new words interminably generated by the new technologies (underlined in red by my spell checker even as I type) and describes "the practice of registering or using Internet domain names with the intent of profiting from the good will associated with someone else's trademark".

Simply put, it's a bit like opening a shop and calling it Summerfield, or Morriston's, to mimic Somerfield or Morrisons. Only in this case, because of the way domain names work, you do not have to spell it differently, you simply have to make sure the name is not already registered. It is still illegal, however, and the unofficial Mormon apologetics organisation the Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIR) has fallen foul of the law in the United States by cybersquatting on the names of Utah Lighthouse Ministry and its founders, Jerald and Sandra Tanner.

In an historic move Utah Lighthouse Ministry finds itself for the first time filing a lawsuit over the issue. Even the pages on the sites inadvertently visited by cybersurfers (there's another one) resemble to the finest detail the official UTLM site. I can't help but think of the old saying, "Beware your sins will find you out".

For an insight into the less than ingenuous dealings FAIR with this ministry you might look at our previous article. Visit their site for more on the Utah Lighthouse Ministry case.

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