§ Michael FabricantTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what statistics the Government collate on(a) incidences and (b) the cost to British business of cybersquatting on British companies and individuals. [187952]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe Government do not run the internet and we do not have responsibility for internet domain names. Statistics for Top Level Domain names are held on the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organisation) Arbitration and Mediation Center website (www.arbiter.wipo.int/.domains/index.html). Since 1999 WIPO has recorded 554 instances of disputes for generic top level domain names (.int.com etc.) in which the complainant was domiciled in the UK.
Nominet UK is responsible for uk internet domain name registration. As of 31 August there were over 3.6 million uk registrations in Nominet's register database. To date, Nominet has received 1,813 disputes into its Dispute Resolution Procedure since September 2001.
1532WNominet's Dispute Resolution Procedure is free of charge and Nominet provides it's administrative and mediation services free. The domain name registry responsible for com.net etc. offer similar dispute resolution procedures; where they are administered by WIPO they are subject to fees as set out at (www.arbiter.wipo.int/domains/fees/index.html).
§ Michael FabricantTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the Government's policy towards the practice of cybersquatting; and what steps the Government are taking to reduce cybersquatting. [187957]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienWIPO defines cybersquatting as the pre-emptive, bad faith registration of trademarks as domain names by third parties who do not possess rights in such names. Cyber squatters exploit the first come first served nature of the domain name registration system to register as domain names third parties' trademarks or business names of famous people as well as variations thereof. A common motive for cybersquatting is the intention to sell the domain name back to the trademark owner or to attract web traffic to unrelated commercial offers.
The Government support the development of affordable alternative dispute resolution procedures by domain name registries.
It is ICANN's (Internet Corporation For Assigned Names and Numbers) responsibility to co-ordinate, at a global level, the internet domain name system. ICANN's board have adopted a Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy for all registrars serving the com, .net, and org domains.
Nominet UK manages the database of uk domain name registrations. Nominet have a Dispute Resolution Procedure developed in close consultation with UK stakeholders.