Intellectual Property, Information Technology & Cybersecurity

The bad faith registration of domain names can disrupt businesses of brand owners. Cybersquatters may use such domains to direct web traffic to unrelated commercial entities or may even use them to sell counterfeit products, steal customers' personal information or run deceptive schemes. This article will briefly explain the basics of domain name arbitration, which is a fast and cost-effective way in getting back the domains, and share our experience in getting successful outcomes.

I. DOMAIN NAME ARBITRATION MECHANISM

Unlike registration of other IP rights (like trademark and patent) which are normally subject to certain examination regimes, there is no examination mechanism for domain names and domain names are normally registered on a pure first-come-first-serve basis. Instead, registration of domain names is subject to domain name dispute resolution policies which provide for an arbitration mechanism. The existence of domain name arbitration mechanism enables the legitimate brand owner to challenge and recover domain names that are registered by bad faith cybersquatters in a fast and cost-effective manner, Generally, decisions will be handed down in around 2 months from the date of filing of complaint, and the transfer or cancellation of the disputed domain name may be completed in l month's time upon the handing down of the decision.

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