As a result of Toys ‘R’ Us going bankrupt and closing all of its U.S. stores, toy retailer plans to place some of its assets up for auction, including a slew of surprising Domain Names one might not expect a toy company to own.  Among the domains soon to be auctioned include sex-toys-r-us.com, ihatetoysrus.com, toysrussucks.com, kinkytoysrus.com, adult-toys-r-us.com, as well as lodges-r-us.com, bistros-r-us.com, recipes-r-us.com, burgers-r-us.com, and cigars-r-us.com.

Many big businesses engage in the practice of registering similar domain names to their primary one for several reasons:

1. One big reason is to protect the business’ trademarks and brand.  Toys ‘R’ Us is primarily known for the “‘R’ Us” portion of its name, which is reflected in the alternative domain names it chose to register and own.  Having websites such as “sex-toys-r-us.com” available and active could severely harm a kid friendly brand like Toys ‘R’ Us.
2. Another reason is to avoid a practice called typosquatting, which involves registering a domain name with a slight typographical differences from that of the legitimate business, relying on the presumption that some users will misspell the domain name when typing it into a web browser.  Typosquatting can lead to consumer confusion and harm both the business and brand.
3. A third reason businesses may want to register a variety of domain names is to avoid gripe sites from being developed.  For instance, “toysrussucks.com” could have been potentially registered by someone with a grudge against Toys ‘R’ Us looking to disparage the company.  This is problematic because while some gripe sites have been removed for reasons of defamation or trademark infringement, some are couched in opinion and therefore protected by First Amendment free speech.

Whatever the primary motivator for Toys ‘R’ Us to register these domain names, the fact that they are now up for auction is noteworthy.  While Toys ‘R’ Us has unfortunately failed as a business, the purchasers of these domain names may now be able to capitalize on a brand that will undoubtedly remain relevant in today’s society for quite some time to come.