Our Website Attorneys Regularly Handle UDRP Domain Name Disputes before the NAF and WIPO

Background on UDRP Disputes

UDRP domain name disputes are an expedited legal proceeding in which one party tries to take (or seize) a domain name from another party.  The Uniform Domain Name Resolution Policy (UDRP) is a set of rules that all domain name registrants agree to when registering a domain name anywhere in the world (a registrant is the party registering a domain name through GoDaddy, Network Solutions, eNom, or any other registrar).  Under the UDRP, anyone registering a domain name may be sued (or have a UDRP proceeding commenced against them) before an ICANN-approved dispute resolution provider (a court designated by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers to handle domain name disputes).  These proceedings are involuntary -- if you register a gLTD (a generic top-level domain name like including .com, .net, .info, .org, etc) you, or the person who has registered the domain name, are subject to the UDRP domain name dispute.  These disputes allow parties to seize a domain name from another party who shouldn't have registered it, including domain names which contain personal names of someone else, trademarks or brand names of another party, or misleading domain names that suggest an affiliation with another party.  The ICANN-approved dispute resolution providers include the National Arbitration Forum (NAF) in Minnesota, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva, and the Czech Arbitration Court (CAC) in the Czech Republic.  If you retain us to represent you, we can advise you on where is best to file your domain name dispute and we have handled many domain name disputes with all of these organizations.

Legal Services We Provide

We can represent you in filing a UDRP domain name dispute, or defending a dispute which has been filed against you.  It doesn't matter where in the world you reside.  You are usually notified these disputes have been filed via email.  Please constact us at 888-941-9933 for a free consultation or email Steve at steve@websiteattorneys.com. 

Our Recent Wins

We have represented many parties in UDRP domain name disputes and win most of our UDRP cases.  Below are links to recent decisions that have been made in our favor: 

WE CAN HELP YOU SEIZE A DOMAIN NAME WHICH SHOULD RIGHTFULLY BELONG TO YOU We may be able to help you seize a domain name in which you have rights by filing an ICANN UDRP arbitration action. Call us now at: (801) 347-5173, or email: steve@websiteattorneys.com   STEVEN L. RINEHART, WEBSITE ATTORNEY Steven Rinehart focuses his practice on Internet domain name disputes. Regardless of where on Earth you reside or do business, Steve can help you strip a domain name from another by filing a UDRP complaint.  He can also help defent you against a UDRP action wrongfully initiated by another party. He has been featured as expert on Internet law in the ECT News and Associated Press, and is one of the few litigators to offer contingency representation to all new UDRP clients (meaning you only pay if you win).  Please call him at: (888) 941-9933 for a free consultation, or email him.  For a list of represented clients click here.  See below for links to recent victories. STATISTICS & FACTS * Approximately 79% of the UDRP complaints filed result in the complainant (the filer), gaining control of the domain name in dispute.  * ICANN charges a $1,300 filing fee to initiate an arbitration proceeding (single member panel).  This is in addition to the attorney fees above. * In egregious situations, we may also be able to file a federal lawsuit seeking damages for cyber-piracy, cybersquatting, trademark infringement, and unfair business practices against URL registrants.

PRICING UDRP Complaint/Answer: $3,200 or   Contingency Fee Option (payable upon success): $5,200   Call for more information on flat fee and contingency fee arrangements WHAT IS A DOMAIN NAME DISPUTE? WE CAN HELP YOU FILE A UDRP COMPLAINT TO SEIZE A DOMAIN NAME BEING USED ABUSIVELY A domain name is a piece of intellectual property (IP). If someone has registered, and is using, a domain name that is similar to your own in an abusive manner, or to cause you harm, our website attorneys may be able to help you take that domain though a speedy and simple arbitration process. Examples of abusive behavior by others entails: (1) registering a domain name that is a misspelling of your business or domain, (2) registering a domain name that is similar to your domain to confuse customers, (3) operating a website that mimics your website in some way that confuses users, or causes customers to believe you condone content on the website, and (4) embarassing you or your company by putting objectionable material on a domain name similar to yours (such as pornography or lies). Individuals which engage in these behaviors are called cybersquatters or cyberpirates. Cyberpirates often do this in attempt to extort exorbitant purchaes prices for the infringing domain name out of legitmate businesses. The quasi-private authority which controls ownership of all domain names is called the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). ICANN provides a simple procedure for resolving disputes related to abusive registration behavior, and we can represent you in availing yourself of that procedure by initiating an arbritration proceeding. We do this by filing what is called a UDRP Complaint (or QCP or CEDRP Complaint).

CONTINGENCY FEE OPTION We often represent clients in UDRP actions on contigency, meaning we will represent you free or charge unless, or until, you win. If we decide your case has merit -- and the cases of most people who contact us do have merit -- we will offer you the option of paying Western IP a flat fee of $3,500 to represent you in a UDRP action, or of paying us nothing up front and $4,500 if you win. We may require that the $6,500 be escrowed in some cases. WHAT DOES THE UDRP PROCESS ENTAIL AND HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE? Usually, the party filing the UDPR complaint (the complainant) files what is essentially a lawsuit with either the National Arbitration Forum or World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The filing fee to file this complaint is currently $1,300 for a single-member panel and $2,600 for a three-member panel (i.e. the number of judges deciding the case). The fees may increase if more than one domain name is in dispute. The respondent (the party the UDPR case was filed against) has twenty (20) days to answer the complaint. Often the respondent will not answer, in which case the complainant generally wins by default.  Many UDPR cases are won because the respondent simply fails to respond. If the respondent does answer, the complainant has five (5) days to submit any additional relevant materials (if the case was filed in the NAF), and the respondent then has five (5) days to make a final submission. In three-member panels, the complainant and respondent engage is an elimination process, each selecting and disqualifying panelists such that both have some say in who is, and is not, on the panel. A final decision by the panel is rendered within fourteen (14) days of the final submission, if any, by the respondent. Decisions of the panel can be taken up with a court of competent jurisdiction (usually a federal district court) within ten (10) days of the arbitration forum's final decision, but are rarely appealed after UDPR cases.

Recently Won Domain Names in Federal Court

• ezq.com (won federal ex parte TRO forcing VeriSign to strip this three-letter domain from its Chinese registrant and deliver to California corp);
• ksoftware.com (won federal court transfer order in Virginia stripping this domain from its Caribbean registrant for Kentucky corp); 
• truckmaster.com (won domain in settlement during ACPA federal case after removing case from state court and after UDRP loss); 
• bullex.com (won federal transfer order stripping this domain from its Korean registrant for New York corp); 
• websitelawyer.com (a rare case invovling trademark infringement in state court resulting in order to VeriSign to seize and change domain registration from the Cayman Islands);