One of the main concerns for companies trying to develop or sustain their brands in Russia is cybersquatting. Denis Khabarov and Alisa Fomina consider recent cases that will have a big impact.
One of the main concerns for companies trying to develop or sustain their brands in Russia is cybersquatting. Denis Khabarov and Alisa Fomina consider recent cases that will have a big impact.
According to Ru-Center, which is the largest domain name registrar in the ‘.rf’ and ‘.ru’ domains, approximately 10 percent of the registered .ru domains belong to cybersquatters. This phenomenon occurs when brand-linked domains are registered by individuals who intend to hold the domains and sell them to brand owners at a high price later. According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO’s) Cybersquatters Index, in 2009 Russia occupied the 12th place among leading countries for cybersquatting.
Many international companies, such as Eastman Kodak, Gillette, Google, Coca-Cola and Microsoft have been involved in suits against Russian cybersquatters over domain names registered in the .ru zone in recent years.
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cybersquatting, ICANN, gTLDs, UDRP, Ru-Center, Russian domain names
