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WIPO Domain Name Dispute Settlement: An Introduction

WIPO - CEDA REGIONAL ROVING SYMPOSIUM ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY FOR SMES Paramaribo, Suriname; Castries, St. Lucia; Kingston, Jamaica; and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic July 2005. WIPO Domain Name Dispute Settlement: An Introduction Christopher. M. Kalanje, Consultant, SMEs Division, WIPO.

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WIPO Domain Name Dispute Settlement: An Introduction

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  1. WIPO - CEDA REGIONAL ROVING SYMPOSIUM ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY FOR SMESParamaribo, Suriname; Castries, St. Lucia; Kingston, Jamaica; and Santo Domingo, Dominican RepublicJuly 2005 WIPO Domain Name Dispute Settlement: An Introduction Christopher. M. Kalanje, Consultant, SMEs Division, WIPO

  2. Road Map The Domain Name System (DNS) Domain Name Dispute Resolution Relevance of Intellectual Property Conclusions Domain Names and Business

  3. The Domain Name System (DNS) Exponential increase of users Relative affordability INTERNET No central point of authority Multi-functionality hence popular Not specifically regulated Multi-jurisdictional

  4. The Domain Name System (DNS) contd. • Domain name is an address of a computer • Human friendly • Easy to remember • Easy to identify • Internet protocol is unique underlying numeric address

  5. The Domain Name System (DNS) contd. Domain Name www.wipo.int (Universal Resource Locator) URL Internet Protocol 192.91.247.53

  6. The Domain Name System (DNS) contd. Domain Name Domain Name System Ability to Navigate the Internet Internet Protocol Number

  7. The Domain Name System (DNS) contd. URL = http://www.yahoo.com Internet Top level Domain Hypertext Transfer Protocol Second Level Domain Other examplesare http://www.angostura.com http://www.barbados.org

  8. The Domain Name System (DNS) contd. Top Level Domains gTLD ccTLD Open Restricted Open Specified

  9. The Domain Name System (DNS) contd. Restricted Open .aero .com .biz .name gTLDs .coop .org .gov .edu .info .mil .net .museum .pro

  10. The Domain Name System (DNS) contd. May be either widely used or restricted ccTLD .gy .ht .dm .bz .bb .vc .ag .jm .do .lc .bs .sr .tt .gd .kn

  11. Domain Name and Business North Global Nature of DN West East South

  12. Domain Name and Business contd. - Visibility (TV and print advertising, Billboards, bumper stickers) • - User friendly • (Coca-Cola, Cnn, Jamaica blue mountain coffee) - Potential value $ $,€ €,£ £,¥ ¥

  13. Domain Name and Business contd. • Worldwide DN registrations reached a record high of 76.9 m. in the first quarter of 2005* • drugs.com sold for $823,456† • In July 2000, the name our.com saw twenty-six bids on eBay.com † † * http://weboptimiser.com/search_engine_marketing_news/13043539.html †http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FWE/is_11_4/ai_67003896 † †ibid.

  14. Domain Name and Business contd. • A Domain name can be a short-cut to branding • Potential of reaching new markets increases • Companies take extra efforts to acquire and promote their domain names • The explosive growth of the Internet leaves fewer good names from which to choose.

  15. Domain Name and Business contd. "The Internet is not really about technology--it is about marketing yourself and your products.” iDomain.com http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FWE/is_11_4/ai_67003896

  16. Relevance of IP Internet Success Increased commercial activity on the Internet Potentially Explosive Business Environment One address per user & FCFS Principle Cybersquatting

  17. Relevance of IP contd. Tension between Trademarks, personality rights, Geographical indication (rights of Identification) Addresses on the internet (power of connotation and identification) Domain Name System Intellectual Property System

  18. Relevance of IP contd. Trademark Domain Name - First come first served - One unique registration - Application across jurisdictions - In principle, no examination - Broad use - Territorial registration and application - Different classes - Examination and opposition - Goods and services in commerce

  19. Domain Name Dispute Resolution Courts Options Administrative procedure

  20. Domain Name Dispute Resolution contd. • Filing a claim before a court • You need a lawyer • Lodge a complaint against the cybersquatter • Interim measure (injunction) • Process can be extremely long • Won’t be able to use your DN until the end of the process • The cost of waiting can be extremely high in business term

  21. Domain Name Dispute Resolution contd. • WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center • Established 1995 • To provide services for the resolution of commercial dispute between private parties involving IP , through procedure other than court litigation

  22. Domain Name Dispute Resolution contd. • Administrative procedure: The Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) • Adopted by ICANN effective December 1999 • Applicable to gTLD • May be used by ccTLD through voluntary adoption • Both parties can go to court after UDRP • Remedies: Transfer or cancellation only; No monetary damages

  23. Domain Name Dispute Resolution contd. • Trademark identical • or confusingly similar • to domain name • Registrant has no • rights or legitimate • interest in DN • DN registered • and used in bad • faith UDRP procedure is designed for DN disputes that meet the following cumulative criteria

  24. Domain Name Dispute Resolution contd. • WIPO UDRP Implementation • Web site including model complaint and model response • Online case filing and communication (e-mail and web forms) • Multilingual case administration • Non-profit fees (btw US $ 1’500 - 4’000) • Impartial WIPO Panelists

  25. Domain Name Dispute Resolution contd. • WIPO UDRP Panelists • 1 - 3 independent andimpartial (appointed by WIPO) • Intellectual Property and Internet specialists • Posted detailed resumes • 384members from 54 countries • Multilingual capacity (speaking 33 languages amongst them)

  26. Domain Name Dispute Resolution contd. • Procedure • Complainant files complaintwith dispute resolution service provider e.g WIPO Center • Provider notifiesDN registrant of opportunity to respond • Provider appoints independent panel from list • Panel decides based on common principles • Registrar implements panel decision

  27. Domain Name Dispute Resolution contd. Panel response Notification File complaint decision Implementation review 0 +1 +5 +3 +20 +14 +3 +10 commencement Visual Model of the Procedure

  28. Domain Name Dispute Resolution contd. • Advantages of UDRP process • Global scope • Time - and Cost Effective • Enforceable Decisions • Transparent • Without Prejudice to Court Adjudication

  29. Domain Name Dispute Resolution contd. • Business strategy can play a significant role in the choice of procedure i.e Court or UDRP • Factors that may influence the choice of route may include, • Potential cost of a long process • Potential damages to be paid • The willingness of the complainant to let-go the underlying domain name

  30. Domain Name Dispute Resolution contd. • Cases administered by WIPO under UDRP procedures exceeded 7’500 (As of June 2005) • Involved parties from 122 countries and more than 14’500 Internet domain names • Resolved cases: 7’189 (96%) • WIPO panel decisions: 5’711 • transfer rate: 83% • party settlement:20% • Completion time per case: approx.. 2 months

  31. Domain Name Dispute Resolution contd. • Example, • Julia Roberts v Russell Boyd (juliaroberts.com) • Madonna Ciccone v Dan Parisi (madonna.com) • Morgan Freeman v Mighty LLC (morganfreeman.com) • Produits Berger v. Randal Law (lampeberger.bz) More information: http://arbiter.wipo.int/domains/cases/index.html

  32. Domain Name Dispute Resolution contd. • Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Belize, and Trinidad and Tobago are among 45 countries that have appointed the Center as service provider for their ccTLD domain name disputes.

  33. Conclusion • DN names have evolved into strong business identifiers • The potential of trademark and other business identifiers being infringed have increased with the increase popularity of Internet • Basically two options are available to settle DN/TM conflict • Litigation in court • Administrative procedure

  34. Conclusion contd. • The UDRP offers a less expensive option for parties involved in DN/TM dispute • WIPO’s Arbitration and Mediation Center provide services for DN dispute resolution • More information, http://arbiter.wipo.int/domains

  35. Finally Thank you for your kind attention

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