The UDRP is a mechanism that allows trademark and brand owners to secure infringing domain names more rapidly than through traditional litigation. Third party providers like the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) administer and oversee UDRP filings and decisions.
This morning, WIPO published a news release announcing that it will conduct a collaborative review of the UDRP in coordination with the Internet Commerce Association (ICA). The ICA is an advocacy group working on behalf of domain name registrants and domain industry service providers. I am a member of the ICA, as are many domain investors. Participating in the review project are numerous intellectual property attorneys who are familiar with the business of domain investing.
While the vast majority of UDRP filings involve obvious cases of trademark infringement, there have been many cases involving descriptive domain names. All too often, trademark owners have used the UDRP process as a means of attempting to secure a valuable domain name for a fraction of its cost. This is unacceptable and can add additional non-financial risk to domain investors along with a substantial financial burden for those who wish to utilize professional legal services to defend their domain name.
The UDRP has gotten better for domain investors over the years. Thanks to the ICA's advocacy several years ago, the theory of a domain investor 'renewing a domain name in bad faith' was discredited and is hardly seen any longer. There is still room for improvement though, and it is great to see that WIPO is willing to work with the ICA with a goal to "maintain the UDRP as an efficient and predictable out-of-court dispute resolution mechanism for clear trademark-based disputes."