| A | B | |
|---|---|---|
1 | User Role | Description |
2 | New Business Owner/Small Business | New or small business owner who are looking to maintain consistent branding across their online identity, i.e. wanting to match their domain name (newbusiness.com) with any other online names or identities (i.e. social media accounts). These users are less likely to use a brokerage or legal team to purchase a domain name and would thus rely on WHOIS information themselves to contact the current domain registrant. |
3 | Corporation | Similar to a new/small business, an established corporation with a legal team, possible trademarks, and an existing online presence will want to consolidate all of their online identities and acquire domain name registrations that could reasonably be connected to their brand. Likewise, a larger corporation may choose to launch a new product (i.e. Apple's iPod) and acquire or register related domain names for future launches. |
4 | IP Holder | An owner of intellectual property (trademark, copyright, trade secret) looking to protect their intellectual property would rely on WHOIS information to contact a domain registrant (e.g., a trademark owner either acquiring a domain name registration; or, in seeking to avoid consumer confusion, taking action against the registrant of a domain name they believe infringes upon their trademark). |
5 | Domain Broker | A broker who may be purchasing an existing domain name on behalf of a corporation or business. |
6 | Registrant | Person or entity that currently holds the rights to a domain name being purchased. |
7 | Law Enforcement | A law enforcement agency may rely on WHOIS to contact a domain registrant in order to address illegal activity impacting a business. |
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