Memo #1

Memo #1

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (or ICANN) and the World Intellectual Property Organization Arbitration and Mediation Center are two examples of international bodies engaged in the process of setting standards worldwide. ICANN helps administer the assigning and registration of the top-level domain names on the Internet. As part of the administration of domain names, ICANN adopted the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy. The goal of the policy was to create a streamlined, international process to arbitrate domain name disputes. The Policy was handed down by ICANN and set the rules and standards by which the disputes would be decided. Amongst the rules that were established were a list of appropriate disputes, the type of evidence that must be presented, and the standard by which the arbitration panels decide disputes. The evidence includes registration and use of a particular domain name in bad faith, such as evidence of "cyber-squatting" defined as sitting on a domain name which a trademark owner would be entitled to use. The infringer would simply be retaining the domain name for the goal of obtaining a settlement for transference of the domain name.
As stated, ICANN established the standards and rules for the domain name disputes. The disputes are then decided through various arbitration panels. For this memo, the focus will be on the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center, however the National Arbitration Center located in the United States is another body that handles disputes arising under the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy. Each of these bodies must be properly accredited by ICANN in order to handle domain name disputes, and each of the bodies must provide a conduit for review by courts with appropriate jurisdiction. In the United States, this conduit was codified by the AntiCybersquatting Consumer Protection Act which provided Federal court jurisdiction for just such disputes. Between 1998 and 2000, the WIPO handled five thousand domain name disputes. However, with ICANN's addition of several new top-level domain, such as .biz and .info, the WIPO has bow handled twenty-five thousand separate disputes.
The arbitration proceedings are surprisingly efficient, taking only forty to fifty days to obtain a decision. The process is also flexible, allowing for a dispute to be decided by a single panelist for a $1,500 fee or three panelists for a $4,000 fee. Further, the disputes do not need to be filed by a lawyer. One limitation is the types of relief available through the panel. The panel can merely transfer the domain name to the winning party (or retain the domain name if the winning party is the defendant). Or the panel can simply cancel the domain name registration. There is no monetary relief available, and the panel relies on the parties to implement the decisions.
While not a perfect solution, the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center, in conjunction with the ICANN policies, is attempting to create a worldwide standard by which Domain Name disputes are adjudicated.