The second quarterly issue of GigaLaw’s Domain Dispute Digest (Q2 2020), greatly expands upon the inaugural issue published earlier this year by adding data from three additional providers of services under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP). It is available for download here.
Now, in addition to UDRP data from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Forum, this Digest includes data about domain name disputes from the Czech Arbitration Court (CAC), the Hong Kong office of the Asian Domain Name Dispute Resolution Centre (ADNDRC), and the newly established Canadian International Internet Dispute Resolution Centre (CIIDRC).
Domain name disputes gained even greater importance during the quarter, with many cybersquatters and scammers targeting trademark owners by preying on fears about the coronavirus and COVID-19. As a result, WIPO issued a press release in early June under the headline, “Cybersquatting Case Filing Surges During COVID-19 Crisis.” The release noted:
The COVID-19 pandemic appears to have fueled an increase in cybercrime. This is also true for cybersquatting cases filed with WIPO’s Arbitration and Mediation Center, which has clocked a steady increase as compared with the same period last year.
Indeed, as the data in the 8-page Domain Dispute Digest make clear, trademark owners are increasingly using the UDRP to enforce their rights against cybersquatters: At WIPO and the Forum (the two most-popular providers), the number of UDRP decisions increased by more than 12 percent in the quarter – indicating that the UDRP remains an important and effective tool for online brand enforcement.
