UDRP (Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy)

The Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP) is an ICANN policy that all ICANN-accredited registrars must follow. It gives trademark owners an administrative procedure, usually faster and cheaper than going to court, to deal with abusive domain registrations such as cybersquatting. Some country-code domains have adopted it too, while others, including .tr, use their own dispute procedures.

How it works

The trademark owner files a complaint with an ICANN-approved dispute resolution provider, such as the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center. To succeed, the complainant must prove all three elements in paragraph 4(a) of the policy:

1. the domain is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which the complainant has rights;
2. the registrant has no rights or legitimate interests in the domain;
3. the domain was registered and is being used in bad faith.

The registrant can respond, and one or three panelists decide the case on the written record. The only remedies are cancellation or transfer of the domain; there are no damages. If the panel orders a transfer or cancellation, the registrar waits ten business days before implementing it, giving the registrant time to file a court action.

Example

As an illustration, someone registers examplebank-loans[.]com, which uses a bank's registered trademark, and parks it with ads for competing lenders. There is no phishing content, so an abuse report is unlikely to succeed. The bank files a UDRP complaint, shows its trademark registration and the bad-faith use, and the panel orders the domain transferred to the bank.

When to use it

• A domain contains your trademark and you want to own it, not just disable it.
• The domain is parked, offered for sale or used to divert your customers, without clear phishing content.
• The same registrant holds several domains targeting your brand.
• The domain is in a gTLD or a ccTLD that has adopted the UDRP.

What brands can do

Use a UDRP complaint for lasting control of an infringing domain, and a phishing takedown when a site is actively harming people, since takedowns are usually much faster. Gather evidence of your trademark rights and the registrant's conduct, and work with trademark counsel on the filing. Phishvoid handles the takedown side and can share the evidence it collects; contact us if you are deciding which route fits. This is general information, not legal advice.

Read more: Typosquatting and Homoglyph Domains Explained