New law aids Chinese cybersquatters

The Chinese government is bringing in new legislation that web experts believe will make it more difficult for companies to tackle cybersquatters.

The new regulations will require all firms to prove malicious intent in cybersquatting cases and outline the circumstances under which cybersquatting is permitted.

An official from the China Internet Network Information Centre (CNNIC) told Chinese news company Sina that the new system will force complainants to act within two years in cases of alleged cybersquatting, according to VNUNet. Cybersquatters purchase web addresses similar to trademarks, copyrighted and brand names and use them to drive traffic to their websites or save them up with the aim of selling them at a high price later on.

The CNNIC official explained that, under the new laws, simply registering a website address containing an existing brand name does not constitute 'malicious intent', which must be applied only to hostile acts. The new regulations are likely to force companies to become more vigilant about new domain registrations and pre-register all possible variations on a trademark.

The United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has reported a 20 percent leap in cases of cybersquatting during 2005, with

1,426 registered cybersquatting complaints for the year. WIPO deputy director Francis Gurry has urged intellectual property owners to maintain vigilance online.