As the data in the newest issue (Q4 2022) of GigaLaw’s Domain Dispute Digest makes abundantly clear: Domain name disputes continue to surge, with more trademark owners filing complaints under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) in 2022 than ever before.
(In addition to the 11-page Digest, I also discuss its findings in a new video on YouTube.)
“The strong growth can be largely attributed to the greater number of people spending more time online since the COVID-19 pandemic, with trademark owners reinforcing their online presence to offer authentic content and trusted sales outlets to Internet users,” WIPO announced in mid-January.
WIPO, which handles a number of dispute policies for various country-code top-level domains (ccTLDs) in addition to the UDRP, experienced its ninth consecutive record-setting year of domain name disputes. And the growth was felt across all of the most-active UDRP service providers. According to GigaLaw’s calculations, UDRP decisions rose by 21 percent at WIPO, 12.5 percent at the Forum, and 12 percent at the Czech Arbitration Court. (Announcements from individual providers may appear to offer different numbers because, among other things, they report on cases filed whereas GigaLaw reports on cases decided.)
I’ve certainly seen this increase in cases I handled for new and existing clients in 2022, with cybersquatters continuing to engage in traditional tactics such as creating pay-per-click (PPC) websites and offering counterfeit (or nonexistent) goods and services; increasing their use of domain names in phishing activities such as business email compromise scams; and redirecting domain names to various sites that attempt to trick users into believing that they have installed a virus on their computers (which can only be removed by calling a fraudulent “tech support” service).
As usual, the Digest includes detailed data about UDRP filings for the quarter, including a breakdown of decisions by provider; lists of the largest UDRP cases and most active trademark owners filing cybersquatting complaints; the top gTLDs and ccTLDs in UDRP cases; and information about cases under the Uniform Rapid Suspension System (URS).
Will 2023 set another record for domain name disputes? Of course, only time will tell, but as the total number of domain name registrations continues to rise (349.9 million as of the end of Q3 2022, according to Verisign’s Domain Name Industry Brief – up 3.4 percent from one year earlier), it seems likely that the UDRP will remain an important and incredibly useful tool for trademark owners.
