[kictanet] The latest on Cybersquatting from WIPO

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Latest Cybersquatting Stats from WIPO 
<http://www.circleid.com/posts/20090316_latest_cybersquatting_stats_wipo/>


http://www.circleid.com/posts/20090316_latest_cybersquatting_stats_wipo/

    * Mar 16, 2009 12:23 PM PDT
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By *CircleID Reporter* <http://www.circleid.com/members/501/>
Latest Cybersquatting Stats from WIPO

According to latest reports from the World Intellectual Property 
Organisation (WIPO <http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/>), allegations of 
cybersquatting by trademark holders continued to rise in 2008, with a 
record 2,329 complaints filed under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute 
Resolution Policy (UDRP 
<http://www.icann.org/en/udrp/udrp-policy-24oct99.htm>). This 
represented an 8% increase over 2007 in the number of generic and 
country code Top Level Domain (gTLDs and ccTLDs) disputes handled and 
brings the total number of WIPO cases filed under the UDRP since it was 
launched ten years ago to over 14,000. To improve efficiency and respond 
to growing demand, WIPO has proposed an "eUDRP Initiative 
<http://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/amc/en/docs/icann301208.pdf>” 
[PDF] to render the UDRP paperless.

*Countries Involved*

Since the launch of the UDRP in December 1999 through December 2008, the 
WIPO Center has received 14,663 UDRP or UDRP-based cases—both gTLDs 
<http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/gtld/> and ccTLDs 
<http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/cctld/>—covering 26,262 separate 
domain names. US, France, UK, Germany, Switzerland and Spain were the 
most frequent bases for complainants, while the US, the UK, China, 
Spain, Canada, and France were the most represented countries by named 
respondent party.

English was the most common language for WIPO case proceedings (86%) in 
2008 as the majority of domain names involved were registered with 
US-based registrars. Cases were also processed in 12 other languages, 
including (in order of frequency) Spanish, French, Dutch, German, 
Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Italian, Romanian, Russian, Hebrew and 
Portuguese. The character set of the disputed domain names themselves 
remained overwhelmingly ASCII (English alphabet), with a small number of 
names in Chinese, French, Hebrew, Spanish, and Swedish.

*Generic TLDs Involved*

The .com gTLD remained the solid leader in terms of the number of domain 
names included by complainants in cases filed with WIPO (79%).

*Sectors Involved*

According to data from WIPO, in 2008 cases covered a wide variety of 
sectors, reflecting prevailing public interest, business activity and 
upcoming events (e.g., Singapore Flyer observation wheel, Madrid 2016 
Olympic bid, Montreal Jazz Festival, Golden Globes); transportation 
(e.g., Air France, Austrian Airlines, BMW, Lufthansa, Southwest 
Airlines, Subaru); hotels (e.g., Taj Hotels, InterContinental Hotels, 
The Sheraton/Westin Hotels); media and publishing (e.g., the BBC, 
Edmonton Journal, National Geographic, Harvard University Press); 
educational institutions (e.g., The John Hopkins University, Sydney 
University, Yale University, TOEFL); computers and electronics (e.g., 
Research in Motion's BlackBerry, computer manufacturer Gateway, 
Samsung); sports teams, leagues and personalities (e.g., English Premier 
League, the Arsenal Football Club, as well as its player Cesc Fàbregas, 
yachting's Volvo Ocean Race, former basketball star Dennis Rodman, 
Adidas); actors and personalities past (e.g., Ian Fleming, Gene Kelly) 
and present (e.g., Scarlett Johansson); fashion (e.g., Christian Dior, 
Lancôme); popular culture (e.g., Barbapapa, Bob the Builder, Marvel 
Comics' Xmen); numerical identifiers (e.g., 4711); and other familiar 
enterprises and groups such as Breitling, Canada Post, Coca-Cola, Ebay, 
Ghirardelli Chocolate, the International Organization for 
Standardization (ISO), Google, Hard Rock Café, LEGO, Nestlé, 
Ticketmaster, and Western Union. A case was also filed by the Thomas 
Jefferson Foundation in relation to the Monticello estate.

The top five sectors for complainant business activity were 
biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, banking and finance, Internet and IT, 
retail, and food, beverages and restaurants.

WIPO's complete announcement can be found here 
<http://www.wipo.int/pressroom/en/articles/2009/article_0005.html#3>.

*Other sources:*  UPDATED Mar 18, 2009 11:16 AM PDT
WIPO Cybersquatting Report Ignores Real UDRP Trends 
<http://www.circleid.com/posts/20090318_wipo_cybersquatting_report_ignores_real_udrp_trends/> 
Antony Van Couvering, Mar.18.2009
WIPO's Misleading Release 
<http://www.circleid.com/posts/20090317_wipo_misleading_release_domain_disputes/> 
Michael Geist, Mar.17.2009
Record Cybersquatting Cases As WIPO Seeks New Trademark Protections 
<http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/2009/03/16/record-cybersquatting-cases-as-wipo-seeks-new-trademark-protections/> 
IP Watch, Mar.16.2009
Record cases of 'cybersquatting' in 2008: UN 
<http://www.circleid.com/posts/20090316_latest_cybersquatting_stats_wipo/Cybersquatting%20cases%20hit%20record%20in%202008> 
Reuters, Mar.16.2009
UN warns on new web domains 
<http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/15710d0e-1172-11de-87b1-0000779fd2ac.html> 
FT, Mar.16.2009

*Related topics:* Cybersquatting 
<http://www.circleid.com/topics/cybersquatting>, Domain Names 
<http://www.circleid.com/topics/domain_names>, Domain Registries 
<http://www.circleid.com/topics/domain_registries>, Law 
<http://www.circleid.com/topics/law>, Top-Level Domains 
<http://www.circleid.com/topics/top_level_domains>