The Inaugural Levine Lecture by Tony Willoughby

Join us for the inaugural Levine Lecture, part of our annual lecture series honoring Gerald Levine, recipient of the ICA Lifetime Achievement Award for his significant scholarly contributions to the UDRP. Gerry is the author of “Domain Name Arbitration” and the forthcoming “The Clash of Trademarks and Domain Names on the Internet.”

We are honored to have Tony Willoughby, an expert in domain name disputes, deliver the inaugural lecture. With decades of experience, including over 600 UDRP disputes adjudicated for WIPO and former Chair of Nominet Experts and the Nominet Appeals Panel, Tony will present his reflections and insights on his 25 years’ experience with the UDRP. His talk will cover his early experience with domain name disputes, the evolution of the UDRP, his experience as a WIPO Panelist, and insights into the future of domain name dispute resolution.

Welcome by ICA Executive Director, Kamila Sekiewicz and ICA General Counsel, Zak Muscovitch. Introductory remarks will be delivered by Brian Beckham who heads up WIPO’s dispute resolution team. WIPO was a pioneer in conceiving of and helping to create the UDRP in 1999 and has been a leader in domain name dispute resolution. Brief questions from Brian Beckham and Zak Muscovitch to follow Tony Willoughby’s lecture as well as brief closing remarks from Gerald Levine.

The Internet Commerce Association, a nonprofit dedicated to domain name policy, invites you to join us for this insightful event. For more information about the ICA and our initiatives, visit About ICA and Membership Directory.

We look forward to your participation! Register here.

Tony Willoughby Biography:

Tony Willoughby, a seasoned expert in intellectual property and domain name disputes, has had an illustrious career spanning several decades. He qualified as a solicitor in the UK in 1970, joining the Trade Marks Department of The Distillers Company Limited, now part of Diageo. In 1973, he moved to the Patent Department of Herbert Smith, a prominent London law firm, where he became a partner in 1977.

In 1994, Tony joined Rouse Legal, an IP boutique law firm in London, and served as Senior Partner from 1996 to 2006. He continued as a consultant to Rouse Legal until 2012. Since then, he has been actively adjudicating domain name disputes, demonstrating his deep expertise in this niche area of law.

Tony’s involvement in domain names began in 1997/1998 when he was appointed an adjudicator by Nominet, hearing appeals from their original .uk dispute resolution decisions. He served as the Chairman of Experts and Chairman of the Appeal Panel at Nominet from 2001 to 2016 and continues to adjudicate disputes at the first instance level. Since 2000, Tony has been a WIPO Panelist, co-presenting annual WIPO UDRP workshops in Geneva with David Bernstein from 2003 to 2019.

Throughout his career, Tony has adjudicated approximately 150 DRS disputes for Nominet and over 600 UDRP disputes for WIPO. His contributions to the field include writing extensively on domain names and contributing the UK section to the first edition of Torsten Bettinger’s “Domain Name Law & Practice.”

Beyond his professional achievements, Tony is also a dedicated volunteer guide at Westminster Abbey in London and an author on the Abbey and its monuments. He will be the first speaker in the ICA’s lecture series named in honor of Gerald Levine, the recipient of the ICA Lifetime Achievement Award.