What you need to know about cybersquatting [Infographic]

As the internet has expanded in recent years to become a vital part of practically everything, companies have been scrambling to get their hands on the best domains in order to leverage their business potential to the maximum.

But, this has been made tricky by a growing phenomenon known as cybersquatting, which is where companies of individuals register a particular domain with the sole intention of selling it on at a later date.

The domains usually contain a brand of company name, meaning the owners can charge astronomical amounts when the respective brand comes calling.

Cybersquatting really came into prominence in 2011 when the organization in charge of top-level domains (ICAAN) expanded the number of domains available. Over 500 have since been approved with a further 837 under process.

The US is currently the country filing the most domain name cases, with the top five industries consisting of retail (13 percent), banking and finance (11 percent), fashion (10.3 percent), internet and IT (7 percent) and heavy industry and machinery (6.3 percent)

To delve a little deeper into the cybersquatting phenomenon, mobile app development firm IrishApps has created an infographic, which can be found below.

Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.

Photo credit: Tomislav Pinter / Shutterstock