A Record-Breaking Year for Domain Name Disputes (GigaLaw's Domain Dispute Digest, Q4 2020)

Domain name disputes hit yet another record in 2020, according to data in the latest quarterly issue of GigaLaw’s Domain Dispute Digest (Q4 2020).

Because GigaLaw’s Domain Dispute Digest only began tracking detailed statistics in cases under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) a year ago, it is impossible to know exactly how the 2020 numbers from all of the UDRP service providers compare with those from the past. But at WIPO, the largest UDRP service provider, a record 4,204 cases were filed last year – representing a hefty increase of 13.8 percent in the number of disputes under the UDRP and other domain name dispute policies it handles.

Across all of the UDRP service providers, 1,281 decisions were issued in the fourth quarter of 2020, involving 2,100 domain names.

As described in GigaLaw’s Domain Dispute Digest, some of the reasons for this surge include:

  • New opportunities for cybersquatters created by the pandemic, including domain names that contain a trademark plus the words “covid,” “coronavirus”" or “vaccine.” (I discuss this issue in my most recent video on the GigaLaw YouTube channel, “Coronavirus-Related Cybersquatting”).

  • The increased use of privacy and proxy services, as well as the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, which makes it more difficult to identify domain name registrants, forcing trademark owners to file more UDRP complaints.

  • A general growth in domain name registrations, which now number more than 370 million.

  • Increased awareness of the UDRP, including the addition of a new UDRP service provider, the Canadian International Internet Dispute Resolution Centre (CIIDRC).

GigaLaw’s Domain Dispute Digest also includes other detailed data about the UDRP as well as the Uniform Rapid Suspension System (URS), including:

  • Number of UDRP Decisions and Domain Names

  • WIPO Domain Name Cases by Year

  • UDRP Outcome

  • Largest UDRP Cases

  • Most Common gTLDs in UDRP Cases

  • Most Common ccTLDs in UDRP Cases

  • Most Active Trademark Owners (UDRP Cases)

  • Most Active Trademark Owners (Domain Names in UDRP)

  • Number of URS Decisions and Domain Names

  • URS Outcome

  • Top gTLDs in URS Cases

Download the Q4 2020 Digest or subscribe to be notified of future issues.

The GigaLaw Firm helps companies of all sizes protect their brands online, using domain name dispute policies – such as the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) – and other legal tools available to copyright and trademark owners on the Internet.