Why the .Sucks Domain Doesn’t Have to Suck
You can now buy a .sucks web domain. Fine, but what should you do with it?
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The launch of the “.sucks” domain back in March sent a wave of panic through company public relations teams.
The idea that someone could tarnish a brand name by cyber-squatting on, say, Vodafone.sucks, ManchesterUnited.sucks or LloydsBank.sucks led to a flurry of registrations by the companies themselves. To take control of their trademarks on this domain, firms had to cough up around $2,500 per year (it’s much cheaper for non-trademarked names) – leading to complaints that Vox Populi, the firm that manages the registry, was holding brands to ransom.