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Watchdog Predicts Rise in 'Cyber-Squatting'DUBAI, Oct 12, 2009 (Khaleej Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Black market trade in internet domain names will increase as a result of the growing popularity of UAE web addresses, officials say. The number of organisations registered with ".ae" domain names is expected to grow 120 per cent by next year. Along with it, there is expected to be an increase in the number of cyber-squatters -- or those who buy domain names affiliated with respected brands and sell them on. "We are expecting more domain names to be registered by cyber squatters and sold on the black market," said Mohammed Gheyath, Director of Technical Affairs at the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA). "This is due to the increasing popularity of the .ae domain name," he said. "If more businesses are registering at this domain, cyber squatters will see an opportunity." TRA is ready for this. "We will investigate if there is cause for suspicion," he said. "If there is enough evidence, we will cancel the registration and transfer the name to the rightful owner." Since 2007, nearly 90,000 entities have registered domain names ending ".ae". By the end of next year, the figure could rise to 200,000, Gheyath said. Domain names can be registered with one of 15 certified firms in the UAE and are often bought for Dh120 -- Dh170. Gheyath said that there were "less than 10" cases of cyber-squatting over the last year. One of them involved Kevin Reed, who registered the domain name "irena.ae" just days after the International Renewable Energy Agency announced that its headquarters would be in Abu Dhabi. Reed said that he owned a brand of nutritional supplements by the same name, and the domain address was taken from him unfairly. It emerged that a man by the same name had been involved in thousands of domain name registrations globally and was described by the World Intellectual Property Organisation as a "serial cyber-squatter". Gheyath said that Reed was found to have registered several domain names and officials tracked a website where he was trying to sell them. He added that all registrations were monitored and suspicious cases would be investigated. "If we notice that there are 20 new domain names registered by the same person, in the same day, we will investigate," he said. "If we discover that this person is attempting to sell them on, we will take action." In those cases, action would be limited to closing the domain name or passing it on to the party in dispute. "In cases like this, we exercise our right to close down the domain name. There's no need to get the police involved since these are intagible things," he said. "If they were to raid their houses, there would be nothing that they could seize." [email protected] To see more of the Khaleej Times, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.khaleejtimes.com. Copyright (c) 2009, Khaleej Times, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |