WIPO announces another record year for cybersquatting
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has seen another record year for cybersquatting of disputed domain names.
In 2023, WIPO handled 6,200 complaints. This represents an increase of more than 7% on 2022 (5,700), and 68% since the start of the COVID pandemic.
The WIPO UDRP principles continue to be an important tool. They enable trademark owners to combat abuse on the Internet. Trademark owners worldwide filed a total of 6,192 cases in 2023 under the UDRP and its national variants.
France, 2nd most active country against cybersquatting at WIPO
The main depositing countries are the United States, France and the United Kingdom.
The 2023 increase brings the number of cybersquatting cases at WIPO to a total of 67,625 since the creation of the UDRP principles.
Evolution of the number of UDRPs processed by WIPO over the last 10 years
According to WIPO, these figures are the result of a number of factors, including :
- overall growth in domain name registrations
- greater awareness of UDRP principles among companies of all sizes
- the evolving nature of cybersquatting activities.
Above all, the UDRP principles remain an interesting alternative to filing claims before the courts in several jurisdictions.
All business sectors affected by cybersquatting
In recent years, business has focused on traditional, speculative cybersquatting. However, domain names are increasingly being used for frauds such as e-mail identity theft, malware and phishing, as well as counterfeiting and unlicensed pharmaceuticals.
The complaints filed cover almost all sectors. Specifically, the main sectors are banking and finance, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, fashion and retail.
The most active French applicants include Accor, Boursorama, CIC, Decathlon, Leclerc and Michelin.
Brands may be represented by their in-house legal departments. However, most brands use other entities to represent them.
They may be lawyers such as Scan Avocats or Industrial Property Attorneys (e.g. Dreyfus, Germain et Maureau, MIIP – Made in IP, Plasseraud IP…). Finally, companies that are victims of cybersquatting also use certain registrars (e.g. CSC, Nameshield…) to obtain legal representation before WIPO.
82% of cybersquatted domain names transferred to trademark holders
Transfer remains the dominant outcome of UDRP complaints. However, around 14% of cases are settled before a decision is rendered. In such cases, WIPO points out that the filing party receives a refund of $1,000 of the $1,500 procedural costs.
In 2023, these were conducted in 17 languages. The top 10 languages are: English, Chinese, French, Spanish, Russian, Japanese, Turkish, German, Portuguese and Swedish.
.COM: WIPO’s most frequent target for cybersquatting cases
The majority of cases concern domain names registered in .COM. This accounts for 80% of all WIPO cases. This dominance is logical, given that .COM is the world’s leading registered domain.
WIPO also noted an increase in filings for the country-code Top Level Domains (ccTLDs) of .AI (Anguilla), .AU (Australia), .CN (China), .EU (European Union), .MA (Morocco) and .MX (Mexico). ), .CN (China), .EU (European Union), .MA (Morocco) and .MX (Mexico).
In 2023, WIPO also began accepting applications for the .GA (Gabon) and .MG (Madagascar) ccTLDs.
The top 10 country-code Top Level Domains (“ccTLDs”) in 2023 in terms of registrations are: .CO (Colombia), .CN (China), .MX (Mexico), .AU (Australia), .AI (Anguilla), .EU (European Union), . IO (British Indian Ocean Territory), .FR (France), .NL (Netherlands) and .ES (Spain).
Cybersquatting by country extensions dealt with by WIPO in 2023
It’s worth noting that this top 10 includes three marked extensions: .AI (Artificial Intelligence), .CO (a variant of .COM) and .IO.
Finally, it should not be forgotten that WIPO is not the only organization empowered to issue rulings on domain name dispute resolution.
For example, the French domain name registry, AFNIC, offers the SYRELI out-of-court procedure for .FR domain names.
On an international level, the FORUM in the United States also conducts a large number of extrajudicial UDRP proceedings.