Using ChatGPT — and other artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as Google's Bard and Bing AI — can be ineffective and dangerous for trying to resolve domain name disputes, especially under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP). In my experiment, these services provided inaccurate information that might cause a trademark owner to lose a cybersquatting case.
How a Trademark Owner Can Leverage Its Own Domain Name to Win a UDRP Case
A domain name dispute brought by the American Farm Bureau shows that -- at least under the right circumstances -- a trademark owner may be able to win a proceeding under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) even if its trademark rights arose after the disputed domain name was registered if the trademark owner previously registered and used an almost identical domain name. This decision, if followed by other panelists, could greatly expand the ability of trademark owners to prevail in UDRP proceedings.
AI and Domain Name Disputes
Artificial intelligence is one of the most talked-about and controversial topics these days, so it’s no surprise that it’s having an impact on domain names and domain name disputes. This video focuses in particular on the dot-ai top-level domain, which is seeing an increase in both registrations and disputes under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP).
Domain Name Disputes Keep Rising (GigaLaw’s Domain Dispute Digest, Q1 2023)
Look Out for Lookalike Domain Names
Cybersquatters sometimes use domain names that look like trademarks -- for example, by using two letter v's in place of the letter w; the letters r and n instead of the letter m; or the number 0 instead of the letter o. In this video, attorney Doug Isenberg discusses three recent cases under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) in which trademark owners filed -- and won -- complaints for these so-called homoglyphs, or lookalike domain names.
Cocaine Bear: The Domain Name Dispute
“Cocaine Bear” is not just the title of a 2023 movie — it’s also a domain name dispute. A company that apparently operates a mall in Kentucky featuring (maybe) the bear on which the movie is based filed — and lost — a complaint under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) for the domain name <cocainebear.com>.
Spanning the Dot in Domain Name Disputes: The <nes.cafe> Case
Nestle, the food and drink company, won a domain name dispute for nes.cafe, by relying on a seldom-used but important concept known as “spanning the dot.” Although the top-level domain is usually disregarded in cases under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), the panel in this case said that "it may be appropriate to 'span the dot' and consider the TLD" because the disputed domain name nes.cafe -- "considered in its entirety" -- is confusingly similar to the NESCAFE trademark.
Barclays v. 'Barclays': When a Cybersquatter Identifies Itself as a Trademark Owner
Leonardo DiCaprio Recovers Lost Domain Name
Actor Leonardo DiCaprio failed to renew his domain name <leonardodicaprio.org>, but he was able to recover it by filing a complaint under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP). In a new video, I discuss what happened in the case and what lessons other trademark owners can learn from DiCaprio's mistake.