The Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy: a comparative study of Nominet, .eu ADR, US and UK legal system to find a proposal for an amendment
Abstract
The Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) covers name disputes especially cases
relating to conflicts between domain name registrants and trade mark owners. The
UDRP has been used since 1999 until today without any major amendment, although a
decade has passed and the numbers of domain name disputes have originally increased
and today remain a sore policy and jurisprudential issue. The major problem of the
UDRP is that it recognizes trade mark rights but panelists have extended its use to
almost every type of disputes including geographical indications, personal names, and
common words. Moreover, with the inconsistency of decisions, it is difficult for users to
rely on the system as a self sufficient method of dispute resolution. The inconsistency of
decisions leads to forum shopping and a shift in balance of justice. The thesis attempts
to propose recommendations for an amendment of the UDRP by studying four legal
systems of domain name dispute resolution. It begins with Nominet UK, the sole
registrar of all .uk domain names. Then, it moves to the system of .eu Alternative
Dispute Resolution (ADR) for all .eu domain names. It then moves to proper legal
systems starting with the US. It concludes the analysis with a study of disputes in the
English judicial system. The author hopes that the studies can bring together some
credible suggestions for the amendment of UDRP.
Authors
Puasiri, WanwiparCollections
- Theses [4495]