Article: What's in a (domain) name? Something worth fighting over

The arbitration of domain name disputes is surging, rising 21 percent in 2006. But these cyberspace suits may eventually migrate towards traditional litigation, or end altogether as domain names become less important in an age of sophisticated search engines.

The National Arbitration Forum recently reported that there were 1,658 domain name disputes in 2006 - the largest filing year since 1999, when the group was appointed as an approved provider of dispute resolution.

The simple reason for the increase: "There is still money to be made in misdirecting traffic," said Internet lawyer Ian C. Ballon, a partner at Greenberg Traurig in Los Angeles. "As long as people can make money by ...

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