A Massachusetts man, Ben Ghosh registered the domain googlecoronavirus.com on March 13. The domain name had a basic WordPress installation with no additional content. However, the visitors see a speech of US President Donald Trump on the main page. Four days later, Google submitted a complaint to the National Arbitration Forum electronically on March 17, 2020.
Gosh accepted to transfer the domain name
Due to the decision of the National Arbitration Forum, it is ordered for googlecoronavirus.com domain name to be transferred from Ben Ghosh to Google. Ben Ghosh didn’t submit a formal response in this proceeding but in its informal communication, it is clear he agreed to transfer the domain name to Google.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, there are many companies that have been registering domain names including their brands and terms like coronavirus and COVID-19. It became a usual protection method against cybersquatting. For instance, Facebook registered over 500 domain names about its brands and these terms.