Once You've Filed A UDRP, There May Be No Going Back

The Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy ("UDRP") is the process used to resolve disputes over internet domain names. But its use is not risk-free. A plaintiff who complains about a domain name in bad faith can be found to have committed reverse domain name hijacking ("RDNH"). And in this recent decision, a UDRP panel found that even where the complainant sought to withdraw his complaint before a decision issued, he could still be found to have committed RDNH. This case thus offers several important lessons to would-be UDRP complainants.

Thomas Wang filed his UDRP complaint against the privacy-protected registrant for yish.com, arguing that the domain name (1) was confusingly similar to his U.S. trademark registration for YISH; (2) was registered through a privacy-protection service, which deprived the registrant of any rights or legitimate interests in it; and (3) had been registered in bad faith (which Wang said was the case for two reasons—it had not been