WIPO and Internet Commerce Association release final UDRP note
Note ought to help ICANN with its UDRP review.
World Intellectual Property Organization and Internet Commerce Association have published the final note from their UDRP review project.
The organizations convened a group of UDRP experts with experience as counsel, as panelists, and as parties to discuss possible changes as part of a review of the UDRP.
The goal was to move along ICANN’s review of UDRP and provide it with a starting point for Phase 2 of its review.
UDRP works most of the time, and that is evident in the group’s recommendations, which I wrote regarding when the initial note was released in April. The final note didn’t have significant changes. Most of the recommendations are at the margins or address processes rather than suggesting an overhaul of UDRP.
It’s noteworthy that World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), which serves trademark holders, teamed up with Internet Commerce Association (ICA), which serves domain registrants, to produce the note.
While it might seem these parties would be at odds, they really aren’t. Both agree that there ought to be a simple and affordable way to address legitimate cases of cybersquatting.
The ICA wants to ensure that trademark holders don’t overreach, and has provided significant education in recent years regarding such attempts. It seems to be having its intended result, as many more panelists are calling out cases of reverse domain name hijacking.
