With greater awareness and use of the Internet, the domain name allocation system is under closer scrutiny. Without conceding trademark-checking responsibilities, InterNIC has adopted a new domain name policy. If InterNIC is notified by a third-party trademark owner, it may demand further evidence from the Internet user and may force the user to change names or put the domain name on hold, pending a definitive court ruling. The Internet user will also be asked to indemnify InterNIC from liability. This area remains legal quicksand.
Many famous trademarks are computer addresses for unrelated entities.
When these trademark proprietors wake up to this fact, they may propose legal action. Another related issue that arises is name depletion. If the public is educated about the depletion problem, it may come to understand that the source value of the Internet address is not what it might appear to be - one should not assume that a domain name is attached to a famous source. The fact that a trademark appears in an electronic communication can give rise to traditional trademark infringement issues. For example, when the owners of cable networks discovered that condominium apartment building owners were pirating their signals off the satellite, aside from communications and copyright claims, they sued for trademark infringement.