UN agency strikes at cybersquatters

 

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By Reuters

Posted on 28 Mar 2008 at 07:50

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) claims to have ousted a record number of "cybersquatters" from web sites with domain names referring to trademarked companies, foundations and celebrities in 2007.

WIPO, a UN agency, says it received 2,156 complaints alleging "abusive registration of trademarks on the internet" last year, up 18% from 2006 and 48% in 2005.

"These increases confirm that cybersquatting remains a significant issue for rights holders," says Francis Gurry, WIPO's deputy director-general.

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

Drugmakers 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 relates.

The majority of domain name complainants came from the US, France and Britain, while respondents were mainly based in the US, Britain and China.