CitizenHawk Raises $3 Million To Target Cybersquatters

[Mark]

May 12, 2008
CitizenHawk Raises $3 Million To Target Cybersquatters
Jason Kincaid 13 comments »
CitizenHawk, a digital brand management company, has raised $3 million in funding from Maveron LLC.

CitizenHawk helps companies protect their online brands by targeting cybersquatters. According to CitizenHawk, up to 20% of hand-typed URLs are misspelled, which has created a market for “typo” domains. Many of these “typosquatting” sites employ the use of profane ads and spyware to maximize their profits, which can tarnish a brand’s image. CitizenHawk locates these sites, notifies them of their trademark infringements, and initiates legal action if the offenders refuse to cooperate.

CitizenHawk intends to use the money to increase their staff and encourage growth in the market. The company was founded in 2006 and is based in Aliso Viejo, California.

http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/05/12/citizenhawk-raises-3-million-to-target-cybersquatters/

:notme: It's really not a lot of funding considering how much they have to fight.

 

[Diabro]

I do not like this. Even if you are not typo squatting they may target you.

 

[Kate]

I do not like this. Even if you are not typo squatting they may target you.

Why :?

 

[Diabro]

Because they target people for money. They do not have to be fair or just, just target people. Say you own Eyepod.com. What do you do if thy target you even though you regged it in 1995?

They terrorize and bully people for profit.

 

[Idees]

I don't own any typos, so I am not too worried.

 

[kemjika11]

ALmost the same problem with P2p + music = $3m will get spent fast, and there will still be tons of typo names to go after, which they won't be able to handle.......

 

[labrocca]

Because they target people for money. They do not have to be fair or just, just target people. Say you own Eyepod.com. What do you do if thy target you even though you regged it in 1995?

They terrorize and bully people for profit.

And you know this how? Do you have ANY proof?

 

[bobdigital]

CitizenHawk intends to use the money to increase their staff and encourage growth in the market.

What market, the typo market?
that's what happens when companies force domain owners to drop their names.
new owners buy the dropped domain in an auction.
kinda like, a worm cut in half, now there's two worms.

 

[Diabro]

And you know this how? Do you have ANY proof?

Do you have any proof that they DON'T?

http://www.namepros.com/legal-issue...citizenhawk-letter.html?highlight=CitizenHawk

Of note is jberryhill's comment.

Please tell me why these guys are good? They use an automated solutions for brand protection, whatever that means.

It is like tossing everything into a meat grinder..

 

[Kate]

Thanks for the link. It could be that these people are not legit after all.

 

[Diabro]

Thanks for the link. It could be that these people are not legit after all.

I am sure they are "legit", whatever that means anymore, but they are also in this for a profit which means it is in their benefit to find issues. It helps their bottom line.

It is like Dateline NBC and that "To Catch a Predator" series. Sure they are legit. Sure pedophiles are evil and should be punished. But after a few episodes I found them to be very self serving. Chris Hanson worked his name and the name of the show and the network into EVERY segment. EVERY SEGMENT.

"Hello, I'm Chris Hanson with NBC and this is To Catch a Predator".

I wonder how many ethical boundaries they would cross just to get those shots.

I know the two are entirely unrelated but I find that ethics falter when people profit from targeting the Evil Du Jour.

 

[kemjika11]

its ok kids. these poor people called citizenhawk will probably be frustrated and out of "biz" in a few years. lets watch and see