'Record number of cybersquatters evicted from domains'
31/03/2008 10:33:14
A record number of evictions from domains were made last year to cybersquatters involved in intellectual property disputes.
Figures from the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) show that 90 per cent of cybersquatters - people who use domain names that are similar or the same as the names of established brands and companies - were evicted from their domains in 2007.
A total of 2,156 organisations issued complaints to the WIPO about the illegal use of their names - a rise of 18 per cent from 2006.
"These increases confirm that cybersquatting remains a significant issue for rights holders," said Francis Gurry, the WIPO's deputy director-general.
The pharmaceutical, banking, telecommunications, retail and entertainment sectors issued the most complaints.
Meanwhile, internet services company VeriSign has announced rises to the cost of registering popular domain names.
Registery fees for .com domain names will increase from $6.42 (£3.21) to $6.86 and .net domain names will rise from and $3.85 to $4.23.
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