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Wipo wipes web of record number of 'cybersquatters'
Trademark abuse on the rise…

By Reuters

Published: Friday 28 March 2008

The World Intellectual Property Organization ousted a record number of "cybersquatters" from websites with domain names referring to trademarked companies, foundations and celebrities in 2007.

The World Intellectual Property Organization (Wipo), a UN agency based in Geneva, received 2,156 complaints alleging "abusive registration of trademarks on the internet" last year, up 18 per cent from 2006 and 48 per cent more than the filings lodged in 2005.

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Francis Gurry, Wipo's deputy director general, said: "These increases confirm that 'cybersquatting' remains a significant issue for rights holders."

Most complaints came from the pharmaceutical, banking, telecommunications, retail and entertainment sectors.

Drug makers were the top filers "due to numerous permutations of protected names registered for websites offering or linking to online sales of medications and drugs", Wipo said.

Last year's domain name disputes involved a wide range of products, events and people, including Airbus's A380 jet, the 2010 Fifa World Cup, Harvard Business School, Lance Armstrong's Livestrong foundation, talk-show host Oprah Winfrey and television show The Simpsons.

A quarter of cases were settled without a Wipo panel decision. Of the remainder, in 85 per cent of cases, the panels transferred the disputed domain names to the complainant and, in 15 per cent of cases, the panel ordered no change of the site registration.

Most domain-name complainants came from the France, the UK and the US, while respondents were mainly based in China, the US and the UK, Wipo said.