Cybersquatting and Internet Domain Names in 2015: WIPO Director General Francis Gurry and Director of the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center Erik Wilbers discuss WIPO domain name dispute resolution cases in 2015. Published by WIPO on Mar 17, 2016
Trends in Cybersquatting and Internet Domain Names in 2015: WIPO Director General Francis Gurry shares his key takeaways from WIPO domain name dispute resolution cases in 2015. Published on Mar 17, 2016
WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) issued a press release today, stating that amid ICANN's roll-out of hundreds of new generic Top-Level Domains (new gTLDs) such as .GURU, .NINJA and .NYC, trademark owners filed 2,754 cases under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) with WIPO in 2015, an increase of 4.6 % over the previous year. According to WIPO, cybersquatting disputes relating to new gTLDs accounted for 10.5% of WIPO’s UDRP caseload in 2015, which covered a total of 4,364 domain names, and "among these names, .XYZ, .CLUB and .EMAIL were the most common new gTLDs." Since new gTLDs comprised only about 3% of all domain names registered globally at the end of 2015, the amount of cybersquatting cases in new gTLDs is more than triple that percentage, based on the WIPO report. WIPO also noted:
"The increase in new gTLD registrations in WIPO’s caseload is anticipated to continue, in particular as new gTLDs contested at Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) auction, such as “.SHOP”, are yet to launch. Meanwhile, calls are being made for a next round of new gTLDs, particularly by brand owners, such as Twitter. At the same time, ICANN has commenced a process to review Rights Protection Mechanisms such as the URS (Uniform Rapid Suspension system) and the UDRP. As the UDRP initiator and leading administrator, WIPO takes a strong interest in these ICANN processes."Annexes to the release:
WIPO infographic:
Follow @DomainMondo
DISCLAIMER
