ARTICLE · 15 MARCH 2021

Dispute Resolution Service For Domain Names

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What can you do when you discover another company using a domain name either identical or similar to yours or to your trade mark?

United KingdomIntellectual Property

What can you do when you discover another company using a domain name either identical or similar to yours or to your trade mark?

For over 20 years, WIPO (the World Intellectual Property Office) has offered a resolution service for generic top-level domain disputes by way of the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP).

Who can use the UDRP, when, and are there any benefits?

The UDRP can be used in for a number of generic top-level domains including ".com", ".info", ".net" and ".org" but it does not apply to national domains such as ".co.uk" (there are alternative options for these). It offers an alternative to litigating through the Courts although it does not prevent you from making an application to the Court regarding the same dispute if appropriate.

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