I don't take myself seriously, anyone who knows me knows that, what I do take seriously is trying to help people and put them on the right path (**ahem.. cough ** ahem). But I will say that I am blunt becuase if I am not, the correct message may not be conveyed. But onto the real answers here..
What I'm thinking about are not parked pages, but sites that displays relevant results, for instance fordauctions could be used for listings of ford auctions. This wouldn't be bad faith if the domain is relevant, doesn't pretend to be the ford motor company. It would not be misleading, I think this would constitute 'fair use'
^^^^ This has been deemed "bad faith" and has been deemed as cybersquatting (just read the upteem number of UDRPs). Fair use? not a chance in this example (commercial gain)
As far as stealing traffic, all sites intend to grab trafic that would otherwise go to other sites, it it stealing? is SEO, a deliberate attempt to improve rankings an attempt to steal traffic? If you have, for instance, mydomain.com/ford.html, the TM in the page name may improve SEO, so is this stealing traffic, get real.
Stealing traffic means.... Traffic intended for one source is directed to another by menas of misrepresenting or by being similar or confusingly similar. Since the links are for commercial gain, menoy that could go to the TM holder is not going to them, hence unfair competitioin and violation of their TM. SEO does not steal traffic, the domain owner who sets up the TMed domain is stealing the traffic. SEO is just optmizing the domain for commercial gain.
You seem to be very hot on the idea that cybersquatting = TM infringement?
Actually, my feeling is illegal TM infringement = cybersquatting.
When I first heard the term 'cybersquatter' I thought it meant
someone who registers a domain with the intent of reselling it for profit, with no intention of developing content for the domain
Well, then there is the legal definition which I have already covered (paraphrase of course). Registering or using a domain with the intent or in the act of monetary gain. You see, it is viewed that if your making or attempting to make money from using a TMed domain, that is bad faith.
However, by my definition, cybersquatting is just business, investment, speculation, whatever.
And this is the reason why overreaching has been possible, many other people have this view too. And it comes down to companies overreaching, and they are being allowed to overreach by panelists and courts becuase of the slimeball cybersquatters whose only thought is to make money from TMed domains. Now, I am not calling you a cybersquatter because I have no idea if you are not personally. But with your reasoning, I can see you receiveing many C+Ds and possibly UDRPs or even court action. BTW- do you know the penalties and ramifications if you were ever prosecuted under the Lanham Act? I guessing you don't at the moment, but you may want to find that out.
In conclusion, if you think I am being too serious, I am not, I am just layin out the facts about the business and cybersquatting. You do what you like becuase only you know your own risk/reward factors. But please research the subject carefully, read all the past posts that you can. And just to let you kow, tere is a user here who listened to some advice along the lines of your thinking and he acted on it, the TM holder is currently making an example of him and are refusing to negotiate or ease up on him. They are looking to break him, and it's all legal to do so. So if you think it cannot happen, it can.
BTW part 2 - Also look up the meaning of "fair use", you defination is not correct.
BTW part 3 - You have no idea how much I am helping you at the moment.
Also some of the domains you are selling have word marks in them.
