Also called Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy
UDRP, explained
ICANN adopted the policy in 1999. Every gTLD registration is subject to it, and many ccTLDs use it or a close copy. To win, the complainant must prove three elements: the domain is identical or confusingly similar to a mark it has rights in, you have no rights or legitimate interests in the name, and the name was registered and is being used in bad faith. The complainant picks an approved provider such as WIPO or the Forum, you have 20 days to respond, and the panel normally decides within 14 days of its appointment. Remedies are limited to transfer or cancellation, with no money damages. After a loss, the registrar waits 10 business days before acting, and filing suit in the agreed jurisdiction within that window halts the transfer.
Bad faith includes buying a name mainly to sell it to the mark owner or a competitor, blocking mark owners as part of a pattern, disrupting a competitor, and using the name to attract users by confusion for profit. Panels accept that buying names to resell is not bad faith in itself, and where you registered a name before the complainant's rights existed they will not normally find bad faith. The date that counts is when you acquired the name, not its original creation date.
The traps are in use. Parking ads pointing to the mark owner's competitors count against you even when a parking company chose them, and a blank page can still be bad faith under the passive holding doctrine if the mark is distinctive and no good-faith use is plausible. Ignoring a complaint leaves the panel to decide on the complainant's case alone. Panels can also declare reverse domain name hijacking when a complaint is brought in bad faith. If a complaint arrives, consult a qualified attorney.
Caseloads are at record levels: WIPO handled 6,282 disputes in 2025, and .ai was among the three country codes with the most WIPO cases. In a 2025 case (WIPO Case No. D2025-2916), a panel said a response that appeared to be AI-generated was unlikely to inspire confidence in its accuracy unless the panel could see the prompts and was satisfied the text had been reviewed for accuracy and truth, and in a .ai case another panel found that the extension, which formed part of the complainant's mark, tipped the balance against a brandable defense.
Example. The panel denied the UDRP complaint because the investor had bought the dictionary-word domain years before the complainant's trademark existed.
Go deeper Is Domain Flipping Legal? Investing vs. Cybersquatting
Free to read, no signup. The list is for news of the course itself.
Join the waitlistSources
- ICANN — Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (adopted Aug 26, 1999)
- ICANN — Rules for Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy
- WIPO — Overview 3.1 of WIPO panel views on selected UDRP questions
- WIPO — 2025 marks record-breaking year for WIPO domain name disputes (Jan 14, 2026)
- Domain Name Wire — WIPO handles record number of domain disputes in 2025 (Jan 15, 2026)
Education, not financial, legal or tax advice. Domain investing is speculative and most domain names never sell. Read the disclaimer.
