[Cicero]

Yepppers!!!! It's called squatting and now there is a law against it....Let me see if I can find the info for ya...Here's a scrap...

~snip~CYBER SQUATTING Vs DOMAIN SPECULATION

Cyber squatting
Simply put, cyber squatting means the registration of a domain name in violation of a trademark or business name or other intellectual property of its owners. This includes the registration of a name deceptively similar to such business name or trademark. Usually, domain squatters register these domains before the company does and offer these domain names to such business houses at a premium. In some cases, domain squatters unscrupulously divert traffic to their sites and use their site for profiting illegally or for posting objectionable and defamatory messages. In other cases, a misspelling of such trademarks or business names is used to confuse the end user. This constitutes domain infringement or cyber squatting and makes the illegal occupant liable for eviction.
US Judge Berle Schiller gave a precise definition of cyber squatting or cyber piracy as �the deliberate, bad faith, and abusive registration of Internet domain names in violation of the rights of trademark owners�.~snip~

Has to be trademarked apparently....If it isn't I guess it isn't illegal. Or maybe this is all a vicious rumour, because I can't find the actual law, I have been finding people talking about the illegality of it and have had no cite for the actual law....I need to go find it...

I have squatted for a boss because she was a jerk....She would buy up all the domain names on all the people she didn't like that she thought might want it some day...I think that should be illegal but I don't really know if it is until I can find the cite.

As I understand it, if you aren't actually utilizing the domain it is not considered an investment, it's considered squatting...