An ever increasing problem on the Internet is the ‘theft’ of trade marks. For a while now "cybersquatters" have been registering domain names which are similar or identical to trade marks and then attempting to extort money from legitimate proprietors of those trade marks in return for transferring the domain names to them.
This problem has reached such alarming proportions that it has necessitated concerted action from international supervisory authorities, like the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and national courts to thwart the menacing activities of these cybersquatters.
There are a number of ways in which this problem can and is being dealt with. At the international level both ICANN and WIPO have standing dispute resolution methods in place to ensure that trade mark owners are protected. At the national level the courts have employed both trade mark law and the common law of passing off to
