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If you tried to guess the web domain for FIFA without knowing the
exact address, chances are, you would get to an Internet page that
has nothing to do with the International Football Federation.
Cases of so-called cybersquatting -- or abusive
registration of trademarks on the Internet --- are on the rise, the
World Intellectual Property Organisation said Thursday.
A record 2,156 complaints were filed with the
organisation's arbitration and mediation centre, 18 percent more
than 2006 and 48 percent more than 2005.
"These increases confirm that 'cybersquatting'
remains a significant issue for rights holders," said WIPO
Deputy Director General Francis Gurry.
Against the background of an unprecedented
number of cybersquatting cases in 2007, the evolving nature of the
domain name registration system is causing growing concern for
trademark owners around the world, said the UN agency.
Cases "reflect current trends and upcoming
events", said WIPO, naming Facebook, MySpace, Stella McCartney
and J.R.R. Tolkien as targets for abusive registration.
One in ten claims came from pharmaceutical
companies, due to "numerous permutations of protected
names" registered for web sites offering or linking to online
sales of the medication.
The next largest group of claims were made by
the banking and finance industry, followed by Internet and IT.
More than 40 percent of complaints were made
from the United States, followed by France and Britain.
Meanwhile, most of the culprits come from US,
Britain and China.
About a quarter of decisions were settled
without a panel discussion.
Of the remaining cases, 85 percent of panel
decisions ordered a transfer of the domain names to the complainant,
while in 15 percent of the decisions, the registration holder was
allowed to keep the domain name.
The agency noted that abusers are also using
privacy services to shield such abusive registrations. Coupled with
the rise in trademark abuse, this raises concerns about new domains
to be announced for the end of this year.
"The potentially useful purposes of any new
domains would be frustrated if these get filled predominantly with
automated pay-per-click content," said Gurry.
-- AFP
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