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16 March 2017Trademarks

WIPO cybersquatting cases hit 3,000 in 2016

More than 3,000 cybersquatting cases were filed by trademark owners under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 2016.

This is an increase of 10% over the previous year, according to an announcement from WIPO, released today.

With more than 1,200 new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) now operational, 340 of which came online in 2016, cybersquatting disputes relating to new gTLDs rose to 16% of WIPO’s 2016 caseload, covering a total of 5,374 domain names.

The most common new gTLDs in dispute were .xyz; .top; and .club.

UDRP cases in 2016 involved parties from 109 countries, with the US leading the way with 895 cases filed, followed by France (466), Germany (273), the UK (237) and Switzerland (180).

Among the top five filing countries, France saw the highest growth (+38%) in cases filed.

Banking and finance was the top sector of complainant activity with 12% of all cases, followed by fashion (9%), heavy industry and machinery (9%), internet and IT (8%), biotechnology and pharmaceuticals (7%), and retail (7%).

Tobacco company Philip Morris lead the list of filers with 67 cases, followed by AB Electrolux (51) and Hugo Boss, Lego, and Michelin (42 each).

Francis Gurry, WIPO director general, said: “The continuing growth in cybersquatting cases worldwide shows the need for continued vigilance by trademark owners and consumers alike.”

He added that this is even more important as a “considerable” number of these disputes involve incidents of online counterfeiting.

“In such cases, WIPO assists in restoring these domain names to trademark owners, thereby curbing consumer deception,” said Gurry.

Total WIPO case filings since 1999 passed the 36,000 mark in 2016, encompassing more than 66,000 domain names.

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