Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) Arbitrations

Generic top-level domain registrars now uniformly require as a condition of registering a domain name that the registrant agree to a standard procedure for informal arbitration of disputes over the right to use the name. Such a UDRP proceeding can provide a speedy and efficient option in cases where the registrant has no genuine defense and the only relief sought is transfer or cancellation of the domain name.

We regularly bring UDRP challenges on behalf of our clients, and are familiar with the procedural requirements as well as the tactical considerations involved in the selection of arbitrators. Recent decisions in UDRP proceedings we have brought include:

NASCAR v. Deaube


HBP, Inc. v. Front and Center Tickets, Inc.


NASCAR v. Razor Gator, Inc.

It is also important to understand the limitations of the UDRP process. There is no discovery. The only remedy available is the cancellation or transfer of the domain name in question. Relief requires a showing that the registrant has no legitimate interest in the domain name, and has registered and is using it in bad faith. And a ruling has zero precedential value. In fact, the loser in a UDRP proceeding can thereafter bring litigation over the issue, and, unlike the decisions of more traditional arbitration tribunals, the UDRP decision will receive no deference from the court.

The UDRP procedure is also only available for generic top-level domains (gTLDs); use of another's mark in a second-level domain doesn't trigger it. And while some country-code domains have adopted their own UDRPs that differ in details but work much the same way as ICANN's, many country-code registrars still have no UDRP at all.

In short, a UDRP proceeding is not a forum for resolution of genuinely disputed trademark matters, even if they arise in the domain name context, nor will it suffice when discovery from the defendant is necessary to prove the case, or when the registrant has its own legitimate trademark rights in the disputed term, even though demonstrably subordinate to the trademark rights of the petitioner. A UDRP is a very effective tool, however, for quickly removing a domain name from the hands of a cybersquatter who plainly has no legitimate right to it.