National Arbitration Forum Reports a 24 Percent Increase in Domain Name Dispute Filings in 2010

Record Number of Cases Filed Last Year

MINNEAPOLIS, April 7, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- http://domains.adrforum.com – The National Arbitration Forum (FORUM), an international provider of dispute resolution services, today announced that a total of 2,177 cases were filed in its domain name dispute resolution program in 2010, up 24 percent from 2009 (1,759 cases) and 23 percent from 2008 (1,770 cases). The FORUM is approved by the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to provide domain name dispute resolution services under policies like the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP).

The following data pertains to the National Arbitration Forum domain name dispute resolution program in 2010 (January 1 to December 31, 2010): 

• Over 2,100 cases filed (96.6 percent) involved generic top-level domain (gTLD) names including .com and .org under the UDRP.
• Approximately 70 cases involved a .us top-level domain under the United States Dispute Resolution Policy (usDRP).
• One case was administered under the United States Nexus Dispute Policy (usNDP) and one was administered under the Restrictions Dispute Resolution Policy (RDRP), regarding .biz.
• Panelists heard and decided 1,819 of the 2,177 cases filed; parties worked together to settle a majority of the remaining cases.
• UDRP cases, on average, were concluded 40 days from commencement, a handful of cases concluded in fewer than 20 days.

In 2010, the FORUM surpassed a total of 15,000 domain name cases filed (15,763) since it accepted its first case in 1999.

"The business of registering and monetizing domain names continues to grow," said Kristine Dorrain, National Arbitration Forum's Internet Legal Counsel. "As a result, it is inevitable that some percentage of those names will involve cybersquatting and more cases than ever are being filed. The FORUM offers a fast, efficient process for resolving these disputes."

Several 2010 decisions involved notable trademarks such as AMERICAN GIRL, TEA PARTY PATRIOTS, MERCEDES and BRAD PITT. National Arbitration Forum domain name dispute proceedings and decisions are available online in a searchable case database.

Cases filed with the National Arbitration Forum are heard and decided by Dispute Resolution Panelists who are primarily lawyers and judges with significant UDRP experience or who specialize in domain name, trademark, copyright and/or e-commerce law. Panelists are located around the world and can conduct proceedings in several languages including Dutch, English, French, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian, Chinese and Korean. The FORUM heard disputes filed by complainants from at least 40 different countries in 2010.

Highlights of the FORUM's year included being approved to handle disputes for the .co country code top-level domain (ccTLD). FORUM representatives also attended ICANN meetings in Brussels and Cartagena to follow potential expansion of the gTLD space. As reported last year, the FORUM migrated to a completely paperless system for UDRP cases, a change that streamlined the handling of cases. The FORUM spent a significant amount of time in 2010 creating new technologies to enhance its online case handling and launched a streamlined online filing system and an upgraded decision search capability. Further improvements to the domains program will be rolled out in 2011.

To file a claim see http://domains.adrforum.com, email domaindispute[at]adrforum.com, or contact Internet Legal Counsel Kristine Dorrain.

The FORUM is also available for consultation and can provide customized sunrise or intellectual property claims services for start up new gTLD registries.  Please contact Kristine Dorrain for more information.

About the National Arbitration Forum (FORUM)

Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, the National Arbitration Forum is an approved provider of the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) by the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). Since 1999, over 16,000 domain name disputes worldwide have been filed through the National Arbitration Forum's state-of-the-art case management system, now optimized by Forthright. For more information, visit http://domains.adrforum.com.

Media Contact:
Kristine Dorrain
952-516-6456
[email protected]

SOURCE National Arbitration Forum