ABA Adopts INTA Position on Definition of Domain Name Abuse

The American Bar Association (ABA) House of Delegates voted to adopt a definition of Domain Name System abuse (DNS abuse) following INTA’s 2023 Board Resolution on a definition that unequivocally includes trademark rights. We believe this vote reflects growing consensus around the importance of protecting trademark rights in the digital space. The vote took place at the ABA Annual Meeting from August 11 to 12.

The resolution reads: “The American Bar Association supports the amendment of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers’ definition of Domain Name System abuse to encompass any deceptive use of trademarks in relation to domain names, the Domain Name System protocol, or any digital identifiers similar in form or function to domain names.”   

The wording closely follows INTA’s own definition adopted by the INTA Board of Directors on May 16, 2023: “any activity that makes, or intends to make, use of domain names, the Domain Name System protocol, or any digital identifiers that are similar in form or function to domain names to carry out deceptive, malicious, or illegal activity.”  

INTA’s approach removes any doubt about the importance of including intellectual property (IP) infringement in discussions with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), governments, and other stakeholders in terms of what constitutes abuse. The domain name industry has developed a voluntary framework with a definition that includes these forms as DNS abuse: “Malware, Botnets, Phishing, Pharming, or SPAM that delivers the other four.”

While this definition covers a large portion of DNS abuse, it does not specifically identify online IP infringement and piracy as abuse. This creates a loophole and some doubt about the place of IP infringement in DNS abuse mitigation. In fact, some members of the domain industry refuse to cooperate with what they deem as “content-related” matters rather than domain abuse as defined by the voluntary framework.  

DNS abuse is a significant threat to global enterprises, their business partners, and consumers, and often involves the misuse of trademarks to perpetuate fraud, theft, and IP infringement. 

DNS abuse can take many forms, including but not limited to: cybersquatting, typosquatting, DNS/domain hijacking, domain shadowing (using malicious subdomains under compromised domains), and domain spoofing (domain names that appear familiar but are not originating from the legitimate IP rights holder).  

Perpetrators of DNS abuse know that domain names often represent the digital “front door” that customers and business partners associate with a company’s products, email communications, and corporate persona. These bad actors register malicious domains by using names that are similar to legitimate domain names or trademarks, or by compromising or hijacking legitimate domains. Including IP rights in the definition of DNS abuse is a solid step forward in attacking the problem.

INTA has been actively promoting our definition throughout the IP community and the domain name industry, and we hope that others will follow this sensible approach. We welcome the ABA’s ongoing support in addressing IP enforcement efforts in the digital world.  

Although every effort has been made to verify the accuracy of this article, readers are urged to check independently on matters of specific concern or interest.  

© 2025 International Trademark Association