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. Report Shows Cybersquatting is Increasing Substantially MarkMonitor <http://markmonitor.com/> , a San Francisco-based company providing online brand and Internet fraud protection <http://markmonitor.com/about/> , released its first quarterly brandjacking report on April 30, 2007. The report <http://www.brandchannel.com/images/papers/329_brandjacking-report-april -2007.pdf> 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 "brandjacking <http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/3D8A5E019BD3585DCC2572D1001AA3 BC> ," 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. The report, based on an examination of twenty-five <http://www.investors.com/editorial/IBDArticles.asp?artsec=17&artnum=1&i ssue=20070430> of the world's strongest brands over a four-week period, indicates that cybersquatting increased by 248% in 2006 <http://www.brandchannel.com/images/papers/329_brandjacking-report-april -2007.pdf> . MarkMonitor's study "found more than 286,000 instances of cybersquatting for the 25 brands it studied <http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=0010003B3T19&page=1> ," averaging 11,400 instances per brand. Well-trafficked media websites, which constituted 31% of the reported instances <http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/3D8A5E019BD3585DCC2572D1001AA3 BC> , as well as financial services <http://www.domaininformer.com/news/press/070521CitizenHawk.html> websites, appear to be the most attractive targets of cybersquatters. Similar results were found when looking at other types of violations, including phishing, tasting (also known as kiting), and pay-per-clicks. Financial institutions <http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=internetNews&storyI D=2007-04-30T140351Z_01_N30346739_RTRUKOC_0_US-TRADEMARK-HIJACKING.xml&p ageNumber=1&imageid=&cap=&sz=13&WTModLoc=NewsArt-C1-ArticlePage1> are significantly impacted by both phishing and kiting; they represent 41% of all phishing instances <http://www.brandchannel.com/images/papers/329_brandjacking-report-april -2007.pdf> and constitute the majority <http://www.brandchannel.com/images/papers/329_brandjacking-report-april -2007.pdf> of all documented tastings. The report indicated that pay-per-click sites alone have provided about $125 million in profits to "cyber crooks." <http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/3D8A5E019BD3585DCC2572D1001AA3 BC> The increase in domain name disputes handled by alternative dispute resolution institutions such as WIPO <http://www.wipo.int/portal/index.html.en> and the National Arbitration Forum <http://www.adrforum.com/> ("FORUM") also support MarkMonitor's findings. In 2006, the FORUM's domain name dispute caseload increased by 21% <http://domains.adrforum.com/newsroom.aspx?itemID=1176> . 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 losses of revenue and advertising costs, and false association <http://www.brandchannel.com/images/papers/329_brandjacking-report-april -2007.pdf> 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 domain name monitoring <http://markmonitor.com/resources/docs/wp-domainmanagement-US.pdf> , or contacting a specialist IT outsourcer <http://www.ihotdesk.com/article.asp?ID=18141125> for further assistance. Mike Rodenbaugh Sr. Legal Director Yahoo! Inc. 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.