British businesses fall victim to 'cybersquatters' amid domain name rollout

British businesses fall victim to 'cybersquatters' amid domain name rollout

 

As hundreds of new web suffixes become publicly available, some of Britains top brands are falling victim to 'cybersquatters'

 

This week sees the rollout of hundreds of new generic top-level domain name suffixes, from شبكة. – pronounced dot-shabaka (.web in Arabic) – to .sexy, .technology and .singles.

 

Over the next year, more than 1,000 new top level domains (TLDs) will come online, taking the number well beyond the 22 that are used today, such as .com, .net and .org.

 

This has been hailed as one of the biggest changes to the Internet since its inception.

 

However, new research reveals that some of the UK’s biggest companies are failing to protect their intellectual property, with many domain names relating to British brands already being bought up by third parties.

 

For example, one of the most highly anticipated new extensions is .web, but 80 per cent of the .web domain names relating to the UK’s 50 most valuable brands have been reserved by unknown entities – including HSBC.web, JohnLewis.web and Burberry.web – according to ICANN's Trademark Clearinghouse, the centralised repository of validated trademarks.

 

Similarly, third parties have attempted to pre-order 78 per cent of the UK’s top 50 most valuable brands under the .online domain name, 72 per cent under .app, 70 per cent under .shop and 68 per cent under .blog.

 

This practice is known as 'cybersquatting', because the third party is essentially holding the brand's domain name to ransom.

 

“The research shows that some of the UK’s biggest brand names are at risk of IP infringement online as new TLDs are rolled out, with other parties keen to capitalise on the traffic a branded website will generate," said Jan Corstens, project director at the Trademark Clearinghouse.

 

"This not only compromises the reputation of each brand targeted, but also has much larger implications. Looking at the bigger picture, if brands fail to prevent third parties from registering domains relating to their trademarks, the economy as a whole potentially stands to lose millions to grey and black market activities, with consumers inadvertently buying counterfeit products from third parties posing as the brand online”.

 

Further analysis revealed that 54 per cent of these brands are currently not in control of key domain names across major existing domain extensions.

 

The findings include examples of familiar brands from the telecoms, financial services and petroleum industries not owning key domain names such as VirginMedia.info, RBS.biz and Shell.net.

 

Brands in the food grocery space were most notable in this regard, with tesco.co, asda.org, sainsburys.info, morrisons.org all found to be under the control of an unofficial party.

 

Around 70 per cent of the brands studied have already taken legal action against third parties infringing on their IP online.

 

One way for companies to protect their intellectual property is to pre-register domains such as tesco.shop and tesco.web, to prevent cybersquatters from getting their hands on them.

 

However, each of these new domains costs about £10 to £30 a year to own, and the sheer number of new TLDs means that costs will add up.

 

Alternatively, companies can record their trademarks in the Trademark Clearinghouse.

 

This allows them to secure all the domain names relating to a particular trademark ahead of wider public availability, and be warned if any third party seeks to take control of a domain which matches their IP.

 

It costs £92 to record a trademark for a year, £267 for three years, and £446 for five years.

 

"We believe that in these instances, prevention is better than cure and cheaper than costly litigation associated with domain disputes," said Corstens.

 

(The Telegraph, 5 Wednesday February 2014 The Roman)

 

Orange cède sa filiale dominicaine à l'actionnaire de Numericable Orange Dominican sells its subsidiary to shareholders Numericable

Orange cède sa filiale dominicaine à l'actionnaire de Numericable

 

[caption id="attachment_10304" align="alignnone" width="400"] (L'opérateur téléphonique Orange va céder sa filiale spécialisée dans les services mobiles en République dominicaine à la société d'investissement Altice, actionnaire principal du câblo-opérateur Numericable Group, sur la base d'une valeur d'entreprise de 1,1 milliard d'euros. | Ana Arevalo) (The phone operator Orange will sell its mobile services specializing in the Dominican Republic to the investment company Altice, the main shareholder of the cable operator Numericable Group subsidiary, based on an enterprise value of 1.1 billion euros. | Ana Arevalo)[/caption]

 

L'opérateur téléphonique Orange va céder sa filiale spécialisée dans les services mobiles en République dominicaine à la société d'investissement Altice, actionnaire principal du câblo-opérateur Numericable Group, sur la base d'une valeur d'entreprise de 1,1 milliard d'euros.

 

Cette opération, qui reste soumise au feu vert des autorités de République Dominicaine, sera présentée pour approbation au conseil d?administration d'Orange au cours de la semaine du 9 décembre, a indiqué l'opérateur français dans un communiqué.

 

"Cette transaction, une fois réalisée, marquera une étape majeure dans la stratégie d?optimisation du portefeuille d'actifs du groupe Orange annoncée en 2011", a-t-il souligné.

 

Dans un communiqué distinct, la société d'investissement spécialisée dans le secteur des télécoms a précisé que l'accord permettait à sa nouvelle acquisition de continuer à utiliser la marque Orange "dans un cadre prédéfini" (mais non précisé).

 

Cette acquisition "renforce la présence d'Altice dans les Caraïbes où la société opère déjà des services de télévision payante, d'internet haut débit et de téléphonie mobile en Martinique, Guadeloupe et en Guyane française", a relevé la société.

 

Orange Dominicana SA, dont la cession était évoquée dans la presse depuis quelques semaines, compte 3,4 millions d'abonnés et a réalisé un chiffre d'affaires de 451 millions d'euros en 2012.

 

La société créée en 2000 emploie environ 1.400 personnes.

 

Altice est devenu l'actionnaire principal du câblo-opérateur français Numericable, peu avant l'introduction en Bourse de celui-ci.

 

Il envisagerait même d'en prendre la majorité du capital dans les prochains mois.

 

Altice s'est récemment implanté dans les Dom-Tom, avec le rachat d'Outremer Telecom auprès d'Ardian (nouveau nom d'Axa PE) en juin.

 

La société a mené ces derniers temps une politique d'acquisitions qui lui a permis de prendre pied en Belgique, en Israël, en Suisse ou au Portugal.

 

(Le Parisien, 27 mercredi novembre 2013 le Roman)

 

 

Orange Dominican sells its subsidiary to shareholders Numericable

 

The phone operator Orange will sell its mobile services specializing in the Dominican Republic to the investment company Altice, the main shareholder of the cable operator Numericable Group subsidiary, based on an enterprise value of 1.1 billion euros.

 

This transaction, which remains subject to regulatory approvals from the Dominican Republic, will be presented for approval to the board ?

 

Administration Orange during the week of December 9, the French operator said in a statement.

 

"This transaction, when completed, will mark a major step in the strategy ? Optimizing the portfolio of assets announced in 2011 Orange group," he said.

 

In a separate statement, the investment company specializing in the telecom sector said the agreement allowed his new acquisition to continue to use the Orange brand "within a predefined framework" (but unspecified).

 

This acquisition "strengthens the presence of Altice in the Caribbean where the company already operates pay television services, broadband internet and mobile telephony in Martinique, Guadeloupe and French Guiana, "noted the company .

 

Orange Dominicana SA, whose sale was mentioned in the press in recent weeks, has 3.4 million subscribers and achieved a turnover of € 451 million in 2012.

 

The company founded in 2000 employs approximately 1,400 people.

 

Altice became the main shareholder of French cable operator Numericable, shortly before the IPO thereof.

 

It would even consider to take a majority stake in the coming months.

 

Altice was recently implemented in the Dom- Tom, with the acquisition of Outremer Telecom with Ardian (new name Axa PE) in June.

 

The company has recently completed an acquisition policy that allowed its to gain a foothold in Belgium, Israel, Switzerland and Portugal.

 

(Le Parisien, 27 Wednesday November 2013 The Roman)

(Translated: R.S.F. tohiki speed news press, Agence France-Presse, 27 Wednesday November 2013 The Roman)

 

 

Nokia shareholders approve mobile phone sale to Microsoft

Nokia shareholders approve mobile phone sale to Microsoft

 

Helsinki (AFP)

 

Finnish telecom company Nokia announced Tuesday that its shareholders had approved the 5.44 billion euro ($7.35 billion) sale of its mobile phone division to US software giant Microsoft.

 

According to Nokia -- which will now become a telecom equipment and services company -- the deal was almost unanimously approved (99.7 percent) by shareholders who voted ahead of an extraordinary meeting in Helsinki.

 

(Agence France-Presse, 19 Tuesday November 2013 The Roman)