What Is WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center?

Why it matters

WIPO appoints expert panels who decide whether a domain should be transferred or canceled. Cases are filed online, and a typical case is decided within weeks. Owners get a short time to respond. For buyers, WIPO decisions are public and help show how panels treat a given type of name. Sellers should read past cases on similar words before pricing a name that matches a trademark. Common mistake: ignoring a WIPO notice. Most losses happen by default, when the owner never replies to the complaint.

Source: wipo.int

Related terms

UDRP: The Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy, ICANN's rules for resolving trademark-based complaints about domains. A complainant must show three elements, and the usual remedy is transfer or cancellation.
Forum: Forum is an ICANN-approved provider that decides UDRP domain disputes. It was formerly called the National Arbitration Forum. Complaints may also go to WIPO or other approved providers.
WIPO Overview 3.1: WIPO's summary of consensus views from past UDRP panel decisions. Version 3.1 is the current edition, and it updates Overview 3.0. Panels and parties use it as a guide, though it does not bind them.
Reverse domain name hijacking (RDNH): Reverse domain name hijacking is when a trademark owner uses the UDRP in bad faith to try to take a domain from a rightful holder. A panel can formally declare it.
Cybersquatting: Registering or using a domain name that matches or copies someone's trademark in bad faith, often hoping to sell it to the mark owner at a profit or to trade on its goodwill.

All 205 terms

Why it matters

Buying or selling a domain?