What is UDRP?
The UDRP is the arbitration procedure for recovering a domain name registered in bad faith against a trade mark, run through approved providers such as WIPO rather than through a court.
Also called Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy.
A complaint has to establish three things together: that the domain is identical or confusingly similar to a mark the complainant holds, that the holder has no legitimate interest in it, and that it was registered and is being used in bad faith. Failing any one of them fails the complaint.
It applies to generic top-level domains. Country-code domains run their own equivalents — Nominet's Dispute Resolution Service for .uk names is the one most often needed alongside a UDRP.
It is a real process with real costs and a timetable measured in weeks, so it competes directly with simply buying the name. Where the holder is reachable and the price is sensible, acquisition often resolves faster.
Related terms
- CybersquattingCybersquatting is registering a domain name that trades on someone else's brand in bad faith, usually to resell it at a markup or to intercept traffic intended for the brand.
- TyposquattingTyposquatting is registering a near-match of a brand's domain or handle — a transposed letter, a missing character, a swapped top-level domain — to catch people who mistype the real one.
- TakedownA takedown is the removal of an infringing or impersonating account, post or page by the platform that hosts it, following a report the platform accepts.