UN takes stand on domain squatters
Mar 28th, 2008 | By Leslie Poston | Category: Internet, Technology news
You wouldn’t think that domain squatting was still a lucrative practice. Back when the World Wide Web first opened its portals to the public, it was common to try and buy domain names of trademarked companies, like Coca Cola or Pepsi, and then sell them back to the company for a nice chunk of change once the company finally decided to make a web page. That practice is still going on, to an extent.
Now the practice seems to be to buy the trademarked domain name and the nearest misspelled version of it, then sit on it. Instead of selling it back to the company that owns the name, squatters park ads on the domain to generate income while the company remains unaware their trademark is being used this way.
This has given rise to a new breed of lawsuit as companies sue the squatters to get their trademarked domain names released for their use. While these lawsuits come from a variety of business sectors, from entertainment to education and every kind of business in between, the leading industry suing squatters is by far the medical industry. Apparently, the variety of new drugs consistently coming on tot he market creates needs for new domain names with each one, which are often being squatted on.
The organization in charge of domain name squatting penalties and judgements world wide in the United Nations through its WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) agency. In 2007 they received over 2100 complaints of domain squatting from companies all over the world (though the bulk of the complaints come from the United States). That’s an increase in filings of 18 percent over 2006.
The WIPO says that about a quarter of the cases resolve on their own without any action by the WIPO. Of the remaining cases, the complainant received their domain in 85% of the cases, and the domain holder (the person or company accused of squatting) kept the domain in 15% of cases.
“These increases confirm that ‘cybersquatting’ remains a significant issue for rights holders,” Francis Gurry, WIPO’s deputy director-general said on Thursday.
