WIPO sets up official channel for domain name disputes

The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) will this week intercede for the first time in a case of domain name 'cybersquatting'.

The term refers to the controversial practice of registering a Web site address based on a known trademark or brand name. Domain name disputes have hit the headlines recently with such high-profile plaintiffs as Amazon.com, Porsche, Avery Dennison and French Connection.

WIPO now hopes to put a stop to drawn-out legal battles around dot-com, dot-org and dot-net addresses by using an independent panel of experts to arbitrate disputes. The scheme has the backing of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the independent body set-up to govern the Internet.

Full details of the first case to be put before the arbitration panel have not been released, but the disputed domain is managed by Australian registrar, Melbourne IT. If the defendant is found guilty, the registrar will either cancel the domain or pass it over to the complainant.

WIPO hopes the arbitration service will boost consumer confidence. Francis Gurry, assistant director general of WIPO, said: "We think it's in the interests of the consuming public not to be deceived."

He added that WIPO also wants to cut down on time and money spent in court. "We want to reduce transactional costs, to have one quick, efficient international procedure rather than multi-jurisdictional litigation," he said.

Gurry refuted suggestions that small companies and individuals will lose out, and added: "The regulations adopted by ICANN require quite an elaborate set of procedures. The methods used to contact defendants is fairly exhaustive."

Philip Stinson, partner at Clintons Solicitors, said the service has the potential to work well, and claimed: "If it's any good it will be private, cheap and the arbitrators will be well-qualified and familiar with ecommerce.

"But there are dangers. Like any form of dispute resolution its rules can be exploited. It has to be policed effectively."

WIPO's Gurry admitted it is only a partial solution. "It only deals with conflicts between trademarks and domain names - the abusive cases. But in so far as it does deal with the problem it will be quick, efficient and successful," he said.

WIPO aims to complete the case within 45 days.

For an related analysis of the issue, see 'What's in a name? ICANN and the Net name game' http://www.silicon.com/a32547 .