Domain Name Wire

Is Cybersquatting Up or Just Enforcement of Cybersquatting?

WIPO’s headline is misleading.

Today World Intellectual Property Forum (WIPO) did its annual release of how many UDRP cases it handled last year. It was a record 2,696 cases.

That’s a lot of cases, and National Arbitration Forum also saw an increase in cases this year.

But I take issue with WIPO’s headline:

Cybersquatting Hits Record Level

A more accurate headline would be Cybersquatting Enforcement Hits Record Level.

It reminds me of when the border patrol says “we’ve recovered a record amount of drugs crossing the borders this year.”

Is that because people tried to smuggle more drugs or because border patrol did a better job catching them?

I briefly analyzed the rise in UDRP cases when I wrote about this last month. A couple notes I made:

- While the number of cases was up, the ratio of cases to total domains registered has only been lower once in the past decade.

- The spike in cases can largely be attributed to a few mass filers using trademark enforcement companies. For example, Lego filed over 100 cases with the help of Melbourne IT Digital Brand Services. I should also note that Lego’s actions seemed to be directed at people who were selling Lego goods on these web sites — it seems to be less of a cybersquatting issue than an a counterfeit/unauthorized reseller crackdown.

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Related posts:

1. Cybersquatting Cases Fall in 2009
2. UDRP Cases Spike in 2010
3. Rate of Domain Cybersquatting Hits All Time Low

Tags: Policy & Law