Branding and online shopping are getting more important for retailers and commercial entities that businesses in many industries are acting vigorously to evict "cybersquatters".
Disputes over web domain ownership are expected to hit a record as the growing importance of online shopping triggers a wave of legal challenges from owners of famous brands.
A key driver of the disputes is the rise of cybersquatters several other countries, mainly in China, who register the names of web domains linked to famous brands and businesses so they can either sell counterfeit goods or demand money from the brand owner before they relinquish ownership.
Famous brands that have taken up cases in the past 12 months include Armani, Swarovski, Burberry, Cartier and Dior. The World Intellectual Property Organisation (Wipo), which acts as the final adjudicator in arguments over who should be given control of a web domain, decided on nearly 3,000 cases in the 12 months to July 2012, the highest figure since 2007, according to the legal information provider Sweet & Maxwell.
Wipo's own figures suggest it is on course to give a record number of judgments for the whole of 2012. In 2011 it adjudicated on 2,764 cases, but by this August it had already decided on 1,931 cases.
As online retail becomes more profitable, household name brands are taking the defence of their domain names much more seriously. They are doing all that they can to protect their revenue streams. Domain names are the key to the door of online retail.
Domain name squatting is unlawful under both the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), as well as the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA). And domain name squatting has serious consequences. Because it is a form of trademark infringement.
The largest number of alleged cybersquatters come from the US, but the numbers of complaints made against websites based in China is rising fast.
The number of complaints made against Chinese domain name squatters has doubled since 2009, and now accounts for 12 percent of all complaints. Domain name squatting was a problem during the dot com bubble from 1995-2000, and slowed down afterwards.
New domains are creating "wars" on the internet. These new domains are likely to be hotly contested, and the chances of conflict are significant. To anticipate the conflicts, businesses need to create a defence to protect their domain name and brand.