NOBODY LIKES SQUATTERS, even in cyberspace, which is why WIPO, the World Intellectual Property Organization and branch of the UN, has ousted a record number of cybersquatters from Web sites with domain names nicked from trademarked companies.

In a rather alarmist press release today, WIPO said that cybersquatting, or the act of registering a domain name in bad faith, had reached new heights. It claimed that a record breaking 2,156 complaints were submitted to the organisation's arbitration and mediation centre in 2007, which works out as 18 per cent more than in 2006 and 48 per cent more than 2005.

The Geneva based agency said that most of the complaints heralded from the pharmaceutical, banking, telecommunications, retail and entertainment sectors and that they "reflect current trends and upcoming events". The press release also named Facebook, MySpace, Stella McCartney and J.R.R. Tolkien as having fallen victim to abusive registration by the cybersquatters.

Apparently, one in ten claims came from pharmaceutical companies, whilst the next biggest group of claims were made by the banking and finance industry, Internet and IT companies. Most complainants came from the United States, France and Britain, whilst the squatters were mainly based in the US, Britain and China.

WIPO's deputy director-general, Frances Gurry, reckons that Cybersquatting remains a significant issue for rights holders and that to make matters worse, abusers were also now using privacy services to hide their abusive registrations.

According to the press release, a quarter of the cases were settled without a WIPO panel decision. In the rest of the cases, 85 per cent were transferred back to the complainant, and 15 per cent were told they could stay as they were. µ

L’Inq
WIPO release