US government expected to tackle cybersquatting

The US government is expected to introduce a bill to crack down on 'cybersquatters' - entrepreneurs who register famous names or trademarks as Internet domain names in a bid to sell them on for profit.

The proposed legislation would prevent individuals registering such names as Coca Cola or Nike, for example, for the sole purpose of extorting financial gain.

It will also cover pornography sites which register odd spellings of famous names, hoping consumers will mis-type words and end up at their sites.

The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) has also been working with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the body that controls domain name administration, to come up with a solution to discourage cybersquatters.

To comment on this story, email newswire@vnu.co.uk