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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Here is a brief summary from National Arbitration Forum,
along with links to this useful information from MarkMonitor. This info is
relevant to the debates around Domain Tasting and Protecting the Rights of
Others.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><a name=Report></a><b><font size=2 face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;font-weight:bold'>Report Shows
Cybersquatting is Increasing Substantially</span></font></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><a href="http://markmonitor.com/" title="http://markmonitor.com/">MarkMonitor</a>,
a San Francisco-based company providing online brand and Internet fraud <a
href="http://markmonitor.com/about/" title="http://markmonitor.com/about/">protection</a>,
released its first quarterly brandjacking report on April 30, 2007. The <a
href="http://www.brandchannel.com/images/papers/329_brandjacking-report-april-2007.pdf"
title="http://www.brandchannel.com/images/papers/329_brandjacking-report-april-2007.pdf">report</a>
details the increasing amount of cybersquatting – the term for the
registration of a domain name that infringes upon or otherwise violates the
rights of a trademark holder – and other brand use violations.
MarkMonitor and some others in the industry are specifically referring to this
as "<a
href="http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/3D8A5E019BD3585DCC2572D1001AA3BC"
title="http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/3D8A5E019BD3585DCC2572D1001AA3BC">brandjacking</a>,"
in which Internet users infringe upon the registered trademarks of
businesses in order to advertise their own products. The concern of most
trademark holders is that these violations potentially lead to brand dilution
of the products and services that they market under their trademarks.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>The report, based on an examination of <a
href="http://www.investors.com/editorial/IBDArticles.asp?artsec=17&artnum=1&issue=20070430"
title="http://www.investors.com/editorial/IBDArticles.asp?artsec=17&artnum=1&issue=20070430">twenty-five</a>
of the world's strongest brands over a four-week period, indicates that
cybersquatting increased by <a
href="http://www.brandchannel.com/images/papers/329_brandjacking-report-april-2007.pdf"
title="http://www.brandchannel.com/images/papers/329_brandjacking-report-april-2007.pdf">248%
in 2006</a>. <font color=black><span style='color:black'>MarkMonitor's study
"<a
href="http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=0010003B3T19&page=1"
title="http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=0010003B3T19&page=1">found
more than 286,000 instances of cybersquatting for the 25 brands it studied</a>,"
averaging 11,400 instances per brand.</span></font> Well-trafficked media
websites, which <a
href="http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/3D8A5E019BD3585DCC2572D1001AA3BC"
title="http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/3D8A5E019BD3585DCC2572D1001AA3BC">constituted
31% of the reported instances</a>, as well as <a
href="http://www.domaininformer.com/news/press/070521CitizenHawk.html"
title="http://www.domaininformer.com/news/press/070521CitizenHawk.html">financial
services</a> websites, appear to be the most attractive targets of
cybersquatters.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Similar results were found when looking at other types of violations,
including phishing, tasting (also known as kiting), and pay-per-clicks. <a
href="http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=internetNews&storyID=2007-04-30T140351Z_01_N30346739_RTRUKOC_0_US-TRADEMARK-HIJACKING.xml&pageNumber=1&imageid=&cap=&sz=13&WTModLoc=NewsArt-C1-ArticlePage1"
title="http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=internetNews&storyID=2007-04-30T140351Z_01_N30346739_RTRUKOC_0_US-TRADEMARK-HIJACKING.xml&pageNumber=1&imageid=&cap=&sz=13&WTModLoc=NewsArt-C1-ArticlePage1">Financial
institutions</a> are significantly impacted by both phishing and kiting; they
represent <a
href="http://www.brandchannel.com/images/papers/329_brandjacking-report-april-2007.pdf"
title="http://www.brandchannel.com/images/papers/329_brandjacking-report-april-2007.pdf">41%
of all phishing instances</a> and constitute the <a
href="http://www.brandchannel.com/images/papers/329_brandjacking-report-april-2007.pdf"
title="http://www.brandchannel.com/images/papers/329_brandjacking-report-april-2007.pdf">majority</a>
of all documented tastings. The report indicated that pay-per-click sites alone
have provided about <a
href="http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/3D8A5E019BD3585DCC2572D1001AA3BC"
title="http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/3D8A5E019BD3585DCC2572D1001AA3BC">$125
million in profits to "cyber crooks."</a> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>The increase in domain name disputes handled by alternative dispute
resolution institutions such as <a
href="http://www.wipo.int/portal/index.html.en"
title="http://www.wipo.int/portal/index.html.en">WIPO</a> and the <a
href="http://www.adrforum.com/" title="http://www.adrforum.com/">National
Arbitration Forum</a> ("FORUM") also support MarkMonitor's findings.
In 2006, the FORUM's domain name dispute caseload <a
href="http://domains.adrforum.com/newsroom.aspx?itemID=1176"
title="http://domains.adrforum.com/newsroom.aspx?itemID=1176">increased by 21%</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>The results of MarkMonitor's report indicate a real concern for
businesses trying to protect their trademarks on the Internet. Specifically,
these cybersquatting, phishing, tasting, and pay-per-click practices are
leading to <a
href="http://www.brandchannel.com/images/papers/329_brandjacking-report-april-2007.pdf"
title="http://www.brandchannel.com/images/papers/329_brandjacking-report-april-2007.pdf">losses
of revenue and advertising costs, and false association</a> of brand names and
products. As an initial defense, Internet browsers Firefox and Internet
Explorer have attempted to block phishing attempts by inhibiting Internet users
from accessing these sites. While the global efforts being made by Mozilla
and Microsoft are laudable, businesses are ultimately encouraged to pursue
individualized methods of protection, such as careful <a
href="http://markmonitor.com/resources/docs/wp-domainmanagement-US.pdf"
title="http://markmonitor.com/resources/docs/wp-domainmanagement-US.pdf">domain
name monitoring</a>, or <a
href="http://www.ihotdesk.com/article.asp?ID=18141125"
title="http://www.ihotdesk.com/article.asp?ID=18141125">contacting a specialist
IT outsourcer</a> for further assistance. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=2
color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black'>Mike Rodenbaugh<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=2
color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black'>Sr. Legal Director<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=2
color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black'>Yahoo! Inc.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>NOTICE: This communication is
confidential and may be protected by attorney-client and/or work product
privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify me by
reply, and delete this communication and any attachments.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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