Philip Argy, a leading IT and IP lawyer in Australia, partner of Mallesons Stephen Jaques, National President of the Australian Computer Society and also a WIPO panellist, writes “it has become increasingly difficult to enforce intellectual property rights, due to improper conduct by domainers and even some registrars themselves” with more than 900 domain name registrars around the world, plus a growing number of affiliated resellers. Argy writes due to the cheap cost of domain names, cybersquatting is on the rise. Difficulties with ascertaining correct Whois information is hindering contacting the registrants.Further, “The delegation agreement between ICANN and the US Department of Commerce includes an undertaking by ICANN to ensure that every registrar includes in its agreement with a domain name owner the obligation to keep the ‘who is’ record accurate and up-to-date. However, ICANN has been turning a blind eye to people’s flagrant non-compliance for far too long. Fortunately, there’s a review currently under way at which this default is likely to be highlighted, so that the integrity of the “who is” record might be restored.”To read all of Philip’s article, see www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22864040-5013038,00.html