In this UDRP case study video, I discuss how trademark owners can use the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) to fight cybersquatters who target trademark owners by registering domain names that include such words as "coronavirus," "covid" and "vaccine."
This issue has been going on since the beginning of the pandemic in early 2020. And now, in early 2021, like the pandemic itself, this type of cybersquatting activity just won’t go away.
I’ve identified more than 40 UDRP decisions that contain coronavirus-related terms, but this is really just the tip of the iceberg. That’s because most of the domain names that are preying on companies and individuals during the Covid pandemic have not been pursued through the domain name dispute system, perhaps because trademark owners are simply unaware of how their brands are being used or unaware of how easily the UDRP can help them address this problem.
In the video, I explain that the UDRP system works incredibly well for trademark owners trying to shut down these scams. As a matter of fact, it looks like every single one of the more than 40 UDRP decisions so far has a resulted in an order to transfer the disputed domain name to the rightful trademark owner, involving such domain names as <facebookcovid19.com>, <sanoficovid19vaccine.com>, <myverizonwirelesscovid19.com>, <labcorpcovid.com>, and <novartisvaccinesdirect.com>.
In one UDRP decision, involving the domain name <hmrc-refund-covid19.com>, a UDRP panel wrote:
The inclusion of the terms “refund” and “covid19” appears to be designed to mislead Internet users into believing that not only does the disputed domain name come from the Complainant, but that it relates to a fiscal policy aimed at mitigating the impact of the disease caused by the… virus, thereby cynically targeting Internet users who may already feel vulnerable and be desperately searching for some good news amidst the suffering and disruption.
Trademark owners have had no difficulty establishing the three parts of the UDRP test — including that the cybersquatters have registered and are using the domain names in bad faith — making the UDRP perhaps the best medicine available to trademark owners for fighting all types of cybersquatters.
