Internet domain names can conflict with a trademark, other intellectual property rights, or another established internet domain name. The holder of a trademark or other intellectual property right may bring an action in court for trademark infringement and unfair competition, and they may seek an injunction or damages. Of course, full-blown court litigation is a very time-consuming and expensive process.

As an alternative to litigation, a party who believes that a domain name infringes on its rights may file a binding arbitration with the World Intellectual Property Organization (“WIPO”) under the rules of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (“ICANN”).  The aggrieved party files a complaint and brief with WIPO, and the allegedly infringing party has the opportunity to respond in kind.  After reviewing the two briefs, a WIPO arbitrator or panel of arbitrators will either deny the petition, or will transfer the disputed domain name to the party who filed the arbitration.  WIPO arbitrators, however, cannot award damages, attorneys’ fees, injunctions, or any remedy other than domain name transfer.  Oral arguments, live testimony, depositions and written discovery are not part of WIPO proceedings.  As a result, these proceedings typically take only a few months from start to finish, are relatively inexpensive compared to litigation.

In our Internet age, domain names are as critical and central to businesses as are their names and logos (sometimes more so).  It is a good thing that there are multiple avenues to protect these valuable forms of intellectual property, which include traditional court litigation and WIPO arbitrations. —Adam Treiger