Cybersquatting is not going away and is a huge problem for trademark proprietors. Domain name disputes concerning .com, .net and .org has increased by 48% since 2005 in terms of the Uniform Name Dispute Resolution Procedure (UDRP).
The increase is due to:
Rise in pay-per-click advertising where cybersquatters link the domain name they have registered with a website containing ads promoting a variety of competing brands. The cybersquatter receives money every time internet users access this website and click on one of the ads.
Domain tasting is where cybersquatters register a number of domain names and wait several days before they pay for them. The domain names that attract the most attention are the only ones for which they pay. The remaining names are deleted, but the time between the cybersquatter registering and paying (or doesn’t pay) the domain name is considered to be registered.
Cybersquatters use privacy services to register domain names and they remain anonymous to the general public. This has the trademark proprietors seeking their identity and wasting a lot of time, money and energy.
To prevent these problems companies need to develop a domain name registration and conflict policy, which clearly identifies relevant criteria to figure out which domain names should be registered, whose responsibility this is and in which countries they should be registered.
Another area which should be monitored on a regular basis is tracking domain names that may incorporate their trademarks and trading names.