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Domain Names
We have been receiving lots of inquiries about the exact way in which UDRP panelists process their cases, so in this post we will try to shed some light on this matter.
The first thing panelists do is to make sure that all the technical formalities of the process are met. Only then the panel can proceed with reviewing the UDRP complaint, the response along with any evidence submitted, and decide whether the complaint meets the three UDRP requirements.
Domain name disputes involving alleged bad-faith registration are typically resolved using the Uniform Domain Name Resolution Policy (UDRP) process developed by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). Critics claim that the UDRP process favors large corporations and that their decisions often go beyond the rules and intent of the dispute resolution policy.
In its nature, the UDRP is quite a complicated document. It is commonly misinterpreted and it is usually unclear to the regular Internet user. That is why consulting an attorney familiar with the UDRP is practically a must whenever a trademark owner wants to file a UDRP complaint or whenever domain registrants face a UDRP complaint filed against them. Many people erroneously believe that they can handle such matters on their own, but please be advised that the UDRP, similar to most legal documents, can in many cases come out to be very tricky to the unqualified person.
Cybersquatting, according to the United States federal law known as the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, is registering, trafficking in, or using a domain name with bad-faith intent to profit from the goodwill of a trademark belonging to someone else. The cybersquatter then offers to sell the domain to the person or company who owns a trademark contained within the name at an inflated price.
To begin with, the UDRP stands for Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy. The UDRP is a mean through which trademark owners can seek protection of their rights in cases where they have been violated by someone who have registered a domain name identical or similar to the trademark. It is important to know that the UDRP is an administrative out-of-court dispute process.
