Uniform Dispute Resolution Process (UDRP)

(assignment developed by Tim Martin)

For a brief overview of the UDRP, please read http://www.chillingeffects.org/udrp/faq.cgi.

Visit http://www.greatdomains.com/. Consider why generic domain names are in high demand.

Next, please read the following UDRP panel decisions:

• Direct Line Group Ltd v. Purge I.T., WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center Case No. D 2000Ò0583 (Aug. 13, 2000), available at http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisions/html/2000/d2000-0583.html. Is a domain name consisting of a mark and a negative term (sucks) confusingly similar to the mark?
• The Orange Bowl Committee, Inc. v. Front and Center Tickets, Inc/ Front and Center Entertainment, WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center Case No. D2004-0947 (January 20, 2005), available at http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisions/html/2004/d2004-0947.html. Is it fair use to register a domain name that includes a trademark to describe an event as well as a generic word to describe a product offered on the website?
• EVA Air v. Chiang, eResolution AF-0588 (Dec. 26, 2000), available at http://www.disputes.org/decisions/0588.htm. Did Professor Weinberg apply Chinese law when deciding whether the domain name holder had rights or legitimate interests in the domain name? Would the outcome have differed if the domain name included "tickets"?
• Dial-A-Mattress Operating Corp. v. Christopher E. Moakely, WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center Case No. D2005-0471 (July 1, 2005), available at http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisions/html/2005/d2005-0471.html. Can a domain name registration be in bad faith when it occurs before the trademark is used?
• Deutsche Welle v. Diamondware Limited, WIPO Arbitation & Mediation Center Case No. D 2000Ò1202 (2001), available at http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisions/html/2000/d2000-1202.html. Should the UDRP admit evidence of offers to sell a domain name to show bad faith?

For a critical discussion of the UDRP, please read pp. 1-5, 14-20 of Milton Mueller's Rough Justice: An Analysis of ICANN's UDRP, available at http://dcc.syr.edu/miscarticles/roughjustice.pdf#search=%22rough%20justice%20udrp%22, and pp. 1-9, 26-32 of Michael GeistÌs Fair.com?: An Examination of the Allegations of Systemic Unfairness in the ICANN UDRP, 27 Brooklyn Journal of International Law 903-38 (2002), available at http://aix1.uottawa.ca/~geist/geistudrp.pdf. Does the UDRP favor trademark owners?

For a brief overview of the Anti-Cybersquatting Protection Act (ACPA), a federal statute relevant to domain name disputes, please read http://www.chillingeffects.org/acpa/faq.cgi.

To understand the interplay between the UDRP and the ACPA, please read Sallen v. Corinthians Licenciamentos LTDA, 273 F.3d 14 (1st Cir. 2001). Does the ACPA create a new intellectual property right in providing a cause of action for Sallen as a losing registrant in the UDRP?

For a choice of law analysis in an ACPA action brought by an losing registrant in the UDRP, read Barcelona.com, Inc. v. Excelentisimo Ayuntamiento De Barcelona, 330 F.3d 617 (4th Cir. 2003). Should this dispute between Bcom and the City Council of Barcelona be settled under U.S. law when BcomÌs locations of incorporation and registration are in the U.S. but its server is in Spain?

Finally, please skim Dluhos v. Strasberg, 321 F.2d 365 (3d Cir 2003), available at http://caselaw.findlaw.com/data2/circs/3rd/013713p.pdf, which indicates that UDRP proceedings do not fall under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). Does this further UDRPÌs objectives of reducing the cost of resolving disputes while giving deference to a court of proper jurisdiction?