The number of cybersquatting cases filed with the arbitration body of the World Intellectual Property Organization reached a record high in 2011 with 2,764 cases filed by trademark owners, the UN agency reported today. WIPO also expressed alarm over the potential impact on cybersquatting of a move underway to add more generic domain names to the internet.
WIPO said last year’s number of cases was an increase of 2.5 per cent and 9.4 per cent from 2010 and 2009 numbers, respectively. “The expanding international reach of the Internet is reflected in the diversity of the domain name disputes filed with the WIPO Center in 2011,” it said in a release.
The WIPO panels that worked on the cases found evidence of cybersquatting, which refers to the act of registering names in bad faith, in 88 per cent of the cases filed last year.
The top five areas with the most number of complaints were retail, internet and information technology, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, fashion and banking and finance. WIPO said the cases for last year included many well-known names in business and public interest sectors.
Intellectual Property Watch (full article)
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