In a report released today, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has announced a 20% increase in the number of cybersquatting (abusive registration of trademarks as domain names) cases filed in 2005 as compared to 2004. The report further indicates that “in 2005, a total of 1,456 cybersquatting cases were filed with WIPO’s Arbitration and Mediation Center. This increase represents the highest number of cybersquatting cases handled by the WIPO Center since 2001.”

Listed below are a number of additional facts and figures reported by WIPO for 2005:

• An average of 4 UDRP and UDRP-based cases were filed with WIPO per calendar day in 2005, bringing the total number of cases received in 2005 to 1,456 – an increase of 280 cases (almost 20%) as compared to 2004.
• Of the total of 8,354 UDRP and UDRP-based cases the Center has received, 8,054 (96.41%) have been resolved. In the 6,349 decisions they have rendered, WIPO panels have found for the complainant in 5,327 (83.9%) cases. The remainder of the resolved cases were settled by the parties.
• WIPO’s UDRP and UDRP-based cases filed since 1999 have by now covered some 16,000 separate domain names.
• In addition to famous corporate brands (2005 cases covered such names as , , and ), celebrities continued to be targeted by cybersquatters. In 2005, this again concerned in particular persons and entities involved in arts and entertainment (Antoine de Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince, Frank Gehry, Damien Hirst, Morgan Freeman, Abbey Road Studios, Larry King). Fashion brands involved in 2005 cases concerned such names as Ralph Lauren, Hugo Boss, Armani and Calvin Klein. Sports-related cases were filed by the Lance Armstrong Foundation, Juventus and the FA Premier League.
• Most disputes concern international domains, with .com again representing over 80% of names involved. However, in 2005 the Center also dealt with 44 cases involving country code top-level domains (ccTLDs). Examples have included the domain names , and . With the addition of three ccTLDs in 2005, the Center now provides services for disputes in 46 ccTLDs, such as .au (Australia), .ch (Switzerland), .co (Colombia), .fr (France), .mx (Mexico), and .tv (Tuvalu).

To read the full report click here.