CitizenHawk TypoAlert: Cybersquatting on Celebrity Names is Big Business

August 8, 2007; 02:24 AM
CitizenHawk, a leading provider of digital brand management solutions, today reported that cybersquatters are fraudulently using celebrity names to generate advertising revenue. In the latest CitizenHawk TypoAlert, the company details the impact of cybersquatting on some of today's biggest names. The following is a list of well-known actors, musicians, sports stars and other notable people and an estimate of the number of potentially trademark-infringing domains on each brand:

Angelina Jolie - 371
Avril Lavigne    - 314
Beyonce - 777
Brad Pitt - 279
Britney Spears - 1,341
David Beckham - 323
Hilary Duff - 439
Kelly Clarkson - 271
Lindsay Lohan - 407
Justin Timberlake - 275
Paris Hilton - 1,974
Perez Hilton - 172
Rihanna - 437
Tom Cruise - 469
Tyra Banks - 234

Digital thieves use sophisticated, automated systems to purchase dozens, if not hundreds, of possible misspellings of domain names. This practice, called cybersquatting or typosquatting, allows them to build vast networks of web sites to siphon traffic away from legitimate companies. The sheer size of cybersquatters' networks virtually guarantees that if a user makes an error in typing a brand name, they will be redirected to a typosquatter's network.

"Paparazzi aren't the only ones making money off people's fascination with celebrities - cybersquatters are flagrantly hijacking the names of many major stars," said Ari Master, co-founder and COO of CitizenHawk. "A celebrity's name is their brand, and cybersquatters who leverage a celebrity brand to drive traffic to websites not associated with that star are devaluing the strength of that brand. We encourage celebrities and their managers to address the misuse of their names online."

For an immediate, free estimate of how many typosquatters are leveraging a celebrity name to generate misdirected internet traffic, please visit www.citizenhawk.com.

About CitizenHawk
CitizenHawk is a leading provider of digital brand management solutions that enable companies to monitor, protect and enforce proper use of their brand online. CitizenHawk's patent-pending technology crawls the Web to search for possible misspellings of domain names, identifies instances of trademark infringement, pinpoints how these sites are being monetized, sends notices of fraudulent activity to domain owners, interrupts the flow of money being paid to trademark infringers, and automates legal action to get fraudulent sites stopped for good. Customers include Overstock.com, iFloor.com, 1800PetMeds and Greenberg Traurig. Founded in 2006, CitizenHawk is a privately held company based in Aliso Viejo, California. For more information about CitizenHawk, please visit http://www.citizenhawk.com