The number of decisions under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) – as well as the total number of domain names contained within those decisions – dropped in the third quarter of 2024. This represents the first decline since I began compiling and publishing this data more than four years ago.
As you can see in the newest issue (Q3 2024) of GigaLaw’s Domain Dispute Digest, there were 6.86 percent fewer decisions and 27.31 percent fewer domain names than in the same quarter of last year.
It may be tempting to look at these numbers and conclude that trademark owners are seeing less cybersquatting activity or that the UDRP is no longer an effective enforcement tool. But those conclusions would be very wrong.
When I asked a representative at one of the UDRP service providers to explain this drop in activity, I received a very short reply: “I could only guess budget, because we all know infringement does not go away.” In other words, perhaps the economy – especially in a close, stressful presidential election year in the United States, where the economy has consistently been one of the most important issues – has deterred some trademark owners from spending on brand protection, a vital but not mandatory legal expense.
Also, it’s important to note that the data in each issue of this Digest represent UDRP decisions (not complaints filed). And since decisions typically follow complaints by about two months, any slowdown in activity may have actually occurred earlier in the year. In other words, it’s possible that the decline may have already reversed.
Indeed, when looking at a larger picture of domain name disputes – not just UDRP decisions for the quarter – it appears that activity for 2024 is consistent with 2023. My extrapolation of data from WIPO (the largest UDRP service provider, which also offers domain name dispute services that fall outside the scope of the UDRP) indicates that the total number of domain name dispute cases for the year will be almost exactly the same as last year. In other words, it’s possible that the 10-year streak of an increasing caseload may continue.
I also see at least two other explanations for the slowdown in UDRP decisions for the quarter: consolidation struggles and settlements.
First, the common use of privacy and proxy services (which I also discuss in the Digest: “New York Times Sheds Light on Domain Name Privacy Services Popular with Cybersquatters”), along with the masking of registrant data thanks to the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), is making it increasingly difficult for trademark owners to consolidate multiple domain names into a single complaint.
Second, anecdotally at least, it seems that more cases are being settled after complaints are filed, resulting in fewer decisions even if the total number of disputes remains unchanged. I recently facilitated a UDRP workshop in Vancouver for the Canadian International Internet Dispute Resolution Centre (CIIDRC), and a number of us there agreed that about 15 percent of our UDRP cases now settle – which is often a result that trademark owners celebrate.
For more data about UDRP decisions in the third quarter of 2024, download GigaLaw’s Domain Dispute Digest. And see back issues of the Digest here.
