The Lucrative Game of Virtual Real Estate

There are numerous business opportunities available on the internet, and one of them is buying and selling domain names — a practice often referred to as domain squatting or cybersquatting.

A while back, I secured the domain tosinadoti(dot)com, thinking that someday I might “blow” and need it. My decision was influenced by the case of Kevin Spacey (the House of Cards actor), who faced a significant challenge when he was unable to claim ownership of www.kevinspacey(dot)com.

Kevin Spacey filed a lawsuit against a certain Mr. Burgar on May 4, 2001, alleging that Burgar was an “infamous cybersquatter” using the actor’s name to promote a commercial celebrity website. Spacey and his production company argued that they owned the rights to his name, voice, and image, demanding the transfer of the domain and seeking monetary damages. Unfortunately for Spacey, he lost the case.

The internet is full of people like Mr. Burgar, one of whom is 36-year-old Jeremy Green Eche, a trademark attorney.

When Vice President Harris announced Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate on Tuesday, the domain HarrisWalz(dot)com was already taken — snapped up four years ago by Eche. Periodically, Eche goes on a “buying spree” on platforms like GoDaddy and Name(dot)com, purchasing domain names for various hypothetical…