Arsenal among many kicked by cybersquatters

Companies and celebrities ranging from Arsenal football club to actress Scarlett Johansson filed a record number of "cybersquatting" cases in 2008 to stop others from profiting from their famous names, brands and events, a United Nations agency said on Sunday.

Cybersquatters register domain names for iconic or brand names such as FIFA or Lego so that Internet users who do not have the exact web address of these brands are directed to pages that have nothing to do with the international football federation or the Danish toy company.

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) handled 2,329 cases, up 8 percent from 2007, under its dispute procedure for Internet page names.