The first issue of GigaLaw’s Domain Dispute Digest— a 7-page quarterly report that tracks data and trends from the major providers of ICANN’s Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) — is now available to download. The inaugural issue, launched during the global coronavirus pandemic, includes detailed data from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Forum, the two most active UDRP providers, which together historically account for about 95 percent of all disputes.

The first decision under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) involving a domain name that contains the word “coronavirus,” filed by Google, not surprisingly resulted in an order transferring the domain name to Google — but not for the typical reasons.

While the coronavirus has adversely impacted countless people and businesses worldwide, it has done nothing — at least, not yet — to slow down trademark owners from pursuing cybersquatters, according to early data from one of the leading service providers under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP).

Already, plenty of news reports have been warning about hackers and other online threats prompted by the coronavirus. And now, at least two apparent cybersquatters have tried to capitalize on the global pandemic by registering domain names that contain the word “coronavirus”: <coronavirusgoogle.com> and <googlecoronavirus.com>.

While it may be too early to know how the domain name system will respond to the coronavirus in the long-term, it is reassuring to know that the UDRP providers appear to be operating as normally as possible under the circumstances.

In a decision that seems surprising at first glance, Warner Bros. lost a UDRP case for the domain name <dumbledore.com>. “Dumbledore” is the name of a popular Harry Potter character, and Warner Bros. is a sophisticated trademark owner, but the UDRP panelist found that the registrant of the domain name had rights or legitimate interests in <dumbledore.com> and that it did not register or use the domain name in bad faith. The decision was based largely on the fact that the word “dumbledore” has a dictionary meaning.

Although the overwhelming majority of domain name dispute decisions won by trademark owners result in transfers of the disputed domain names, the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) includes an alternative remedy that occasionally arises: cancellation of the disputed domain name.

The Uniform Rapid Suspension System (URS) continued declining in importance in 2019, with the fewest number of cases, 138, decided in the six-year history of the domain name dispute policy.

The number of domain name disputes filed at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) climbed for the sixth consecutive year in 2019. The total number of cases increased more than 7 percent, setting another all-time record for the most popular provider of services under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) and other domain dispute policies.

Domain name privacy and proxy services, which allow registrants to shield their identities and/or contact information from public view, have long been the subject of much debate. But, a recent criminal case provides what may be the best justification of privacy and proxy services yet: to protect registrants from armed attempts to hijack their domain names.