A Cunning Cyber-Lepidopterist Flutters by Some Big Companies by Ann Davis / Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal
You'd think by now there would be a way to prevent people from snapping up well-known names for unrelated Internet addresses.
Apparently not. Hans Schnauber, a self-professed nature lover in Washington state who calls himself "The Butterfly Guy," recently registered 170 Web addresses using such corporate names as Time Warner, RJ Reynolds, ESPN, New York Stock Exchange and Smith Barney. he got the addresses simply by pairing the names with the suffix ".org" normally used for nonprofit organizations.
Unlike many earlier cybersquatters, Mr. Schnauber claims he doesn't want to sell his addresses to the highest bidder. He says he just wants to promote his cause, which is increasing habitats for butterflies. Visitors who stumble onto his sites get his photo, information on his group and encouragement to plant plants that attract endangered butterflies.
Network Solutions, the Herndon, Va., firm that registers most Internet domain names, says it doesn't evaluate the validity of applications because it doesn't want to be held liable in a trademark infringement lawsuit. It simply hands out addresses to whoever request them first and pays $100 for two years.
Spokesman Christopher Clough says the "ease and simplicity" of the process encourages the development of innovative Web sites.
A disclaimer at the Schnauber addresses says the sites are "in no way affiliated with the organization you are seeking information about." But that hasn't stopped the angry calls and e-mails. Mr. Schnauber says he agreed to give Oral Roberts University and American Express Co. their names back because they asked nicely. He also says, after being questioned by this reporter, he's giving back www.wallstreetjournal.org. (Thanks.) But he's ignoring a demand by Time Warner, among others, to surrender their names, saying he paid (should say cost) $17,000 in all to use them.
Time Warner Inc. spokesman Ed Adler says the company is "considering" legal action. He adds that Time Warner never locked up the ".org" suffix because "in the normal course of business we wouldn't register ourselves as a nonprofit."
Meanwhile, Mr. Schnauber insists he's doing nothing wrong. "We're trying to help butterflies," he says.
