The Internet Commerce Association (ICA) is pleased to announce the release of the Initial Report of the WIPO-ICA UDRP Review Project Team, developed in collaboration with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
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The Initial Report is the result of a nearly year-long collaboration between WIPO and the ICA, co-led by Brian Beckham (WIPO) and Zak Muscovitch (ICA). It draws on insights from dozens of stakeholder consultations – including registrants, brand owners, panelists, counsel, registrars, and dispute resolution providers, scholars, and others – to assess the UDRP’s performance after 25 years and to identify areas where improvements can be made.
WIPO and ICA convened a group of 16 UDRP experts with extensive practical experience as counsel, as panelists, and as parties. These included ICA Director and domain investor, Nat Cohen, ICA member and domain name lawyer, Jason Schaeffer, and domain name lawyer, Paul Keating, who were part of the talented 16-person Project Team. The Project Team brought in 28 specific subject matter experts including scholars, panelists, counsel, ccTLD representatives, registrars and registries, registrants, brand owners, noncommercial users, and UDRP Providers to provide their advice, experience, and perspectives. These subject matter experts included ICA Board Member and President of domain firm Digimedia, Jay Chapman, ICA Member and Lonnie Borck Memorial Award Winner and attorney, John Berryhill, ICA Member, panelist, counsel, and UDRP scholar, Gerald Levine, UDRP Panelist and counsel Steve Levy, UDRP Panelist and counsel, Georges Nahitchevansky, amongst many other renown subject matter experts. In particular, the ICA extends its immense gratitude to Steve and Georges for their tremendous contributions made over the course of two years within the UDRP.group Project, an invaluable precursor to the current WIPO-ICA project.
Based upon discussions and sessions with subject matter experts, the Project Team identified over 26 subjects for consideration and deliberation. The subjects ranged from procedural issues such as supplemental filings and withdrawal procedures, to potential new UDRP features such as mediation, appeals, and expedited procedures. The Project Team then categorized each subject into a category of “Unanimous Support” of the Project Team or “Consensus Potentially Achievable with Further Exploration” via a secondary track of ICANN’s Phase 2 Review of Rights Protection Mechanisms.
The Project Team believes this Project affords ICANN with a unique opportunity to make its Phase 2 Review as efficient and productive as possible by focusing on the achievable, as identified collectively by a generally representative group of experts with hands-on UDRP experience. We also hope we have assisted the ICANN community in narrowing the numerous complex issues which stakeholders are concerned with and identified paths forward which consider the nuances of the issues and interests. The Project Team further believes that by appropriately harnessing the information and recommendations in this Initial Report, ICANN can confidently embark on a focused Phase 2 Review that prioritizes achievable positive results in a primary track with substantially less effort than would otherwise have to be expended by many stakeholders over many years, while encouraging more difficult issues to be addressed in a deferred secondary track. We encourage the GNSO to use the Final Report of this Review Project proactively and productively for the benefit of the entire ICANN community.
The UDRP remains one of ICANN’s showcase policies that has withstood the test of time over 25 years as a pioneer in international online alternative dispute resolution. Yet experience with the UDRP has identified many areas for improvement that have gone unaddressed since its adoption that would benefit all stakeholders. The ICA has consistently advocated for enhancing the UDRP by bringing more balance and robustness to its procedures. Through this collaborative effort with WIPO, we hope to make progress towards these goals. This collaboration demonstrates the best of ICANN’s bottom-up consensus driven policy development approach.
The Initial Draft Report is now available for public feedback until June 27, 2025.