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Lego overtakes Microsoft in cybersquatting cases

Kevin Murphy, July 22, 2011, Domain Policy

Lego has now filed more complaints against cybersquatters than Microsoft.
The maker of the popular building block toys has filed 236 cases using the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy since 2006, the vast majority of them since July 2009.
That’s one more than Microsoft, about 50 more than Google and twice as many as Viagra maker Pfizer.
Lego has been particularly aggressive recently. As I’ve previously blogged, Lego lately files a UDRP complaint on average every three days.
The company is usually represented in these cases by Melbourne IT Digital Brand Services, the online trademark enforcement arm of the Aussie registrar.
The 236 cases equates to over $350,000 in WIPO fees alone. I’d be surprised if Lego has spent less than $1 million on UDRP cases over the last few years.
Lego has annual revenue of about $1.8 billion.
It has never lost a case. The company either wins the dispute, or the complaint is terminated before a finding is made.
It’s picked up some oddities along the way, notably including legogiraffepenis.com and legoporn.com.
Yet Lego does not appear to have the most UDRP cases under its belt. I believe that honor may go to AOL, which has filed at least 277 cases over the last decade.