Most domain name dispute resolution for .com, .net, .org and the new gTLDs runs through one process: ICANN’s Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy, the UDRP. Every registrant agrees to it when registering. If someone with a trademark complains, you are “required to submit to a mandatory administrative proceeding”, decided on paper by a panel, normally within about two months.
This is general information, not legal advice. If you are facing a real complaint, or thinking of filing one, speak to a trademark lawyer. Fees and procedures quoted here were checked on 16 October 2026 and can change. To avoid a dispute in the first place, run a domain trademark check before you buy or register.
What the UDRP is for, and what it is not
WIPO’s Domain Name Disputes page describes the target plainly: “When your brand is misused to deceive consumers online (also known as “cybersquatting”)”. It is built for trademark owners against bad-faith registrants. Wanting a name, having a business with a similar name, or being annoyed that someone registered it first does not qualify on its own.
It covers all gTLDs, including new ones. Many ccTLDs have adopted it, and some, such as .au, .eu and .fr, use their own variation with separate rules. WIPO is one of several providers approved by ICANN. Its January 2026 news release reported “over 6,200 domain name cases” in 2025, its “highest caseload on record”.
The three elements a complainant must prove
Paragraph 4(a) of the Policy sets the test. The complainant must show that:
- the domain name “is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which the complainant has rights”;
- the registrant has “no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name”; and
- the domain name “has been registered and is being used in bad faith”.
All three, not one or two. WIPO’s guidance to respondents puts the other side of it: “The burden of proof always remains on the Complainant,” and “You only need to successfully rebut one of the three elements”.
What counts as bad faith in domain name disputes
Paragraph 4(b) lists four circumstances that are evidence of bad faith, “in particular but without limitation”:
- registering or acquiring the name “primarily for the purpose of selling, renting, or otherwise transferring” it to the trademark owner or a competitor for more than your “documented out-of-pocket costs”;
- registering it to stop the mark owner using it, where you have “engaged in a pattern of such conduct”;
- registering it “primarily for the purpose of disrupting the business of a competitor”;
- using it to attract users “for commercial gain” by creating “a likelihood of confusion” with the complainant’s mark.
The first matters to anyone who trades names. Buying a generic or brandable name to resell is not bad faith in itself; buying a name because it matches a specific brand, and pitching it to that brand, is the pattern the Policy names. Brandable portfolios are not a safe harbour either. In WIPO Case No. D2025-3938, the panel asked the respondent to show that the domain, “taken as a whole, conveys a linguistic or conceptual meaning independent of the complainant’s mark”.
How a registrant defends a UDRP complaint
Paragraph 4(c) gives three ways to show rights or legitimate interests: use of the name, or “demonstrable preparations to use” it, for “a bona fide offering of goods or services” before any notice of the dispute; being “commonly known by the domain name”; or “legitimate noncommercial or fair use” without intent to mislead. WIPO adds that you “may also provide evidence that your domain name was registered in good faith before the complainant’s trademark rights existed.”
That makes dates and history your evidence. The Domain History Checker builds a year-by-year Wayback Machine timeline of past page titles and topic changes, which can show earlier genuine use, or warn you that a name you are about to buy once pointed at a brand. The Domain Age Checker gives the registration date; note that a name dropped and re-registered has a new one, so your rights date from your registration, not the name’s first. Our post on domain ownership history covers tracing who held a name and when.
A complainant can be punished for overreaching. If the panel finds the complaint “was brought in bad faith, for example in an attempt at Reverse Domain Name Hijacking”, it must say so in the decision. That is a declaration only; no money changes hands.
UDRP costs and timeline
The complainant pays. WIPO’s schedule of fees, checked 16 October 2026, charges USD 1,500 for 1 to 5 domain names before a single panelist and USD 2,000 for 6 to 10. A three-member panel costs USD 4,000 for 1 to 5 names and USD 5,000 for 6 to 10. Expedited processing, for up to five names before a single panel, costs USD 4,000. The respondent pays nothing “unless it requests a three-member panel”, in which case the fees are split. Lawyers’ fees are separate.
| Step | What happens | Official time limit |
|---|---|---|
| Lock | Registrar confirms the domain lock | 2 business days (WIPO Guide) |
| Complaint notified | Provider forwards it to the respondent | 3 calendar days after fees (Rules 4(c)) |
| Response | Registrant answers | 20 days, plus 4 calendar days on request (Rules 5) |
| Panel | Single panelist appointed | 5 calendar days after the response or deadline (Rules 6(b)) |
| Decision | Panel decides | 14 days from appointment (Rules 15(b)) |
| Implementation | Registrar transfers or cancels | Waits 10 business days (Policy 4(k)) |
WIPO’s Guide says a case “normally should be completed within 2 months” if there are no procedural issues; expedited cases run about one month. Miss the response deadline and the panel decides on what it has.
What a panel can order, and what happens after
The remedies are “limited to requiring the cancellation of your domain name or the transfer”. The Guide is blunt: “The Panel cannot award money judgments, nor lawyers’ costs.” Decisions are published in full.
There is no appeal inside the UDRP. Either side can go to court before or after. Under paragraph 4(k), the registrar waits ten business days after hearing of a transfer or cancellation decision, then implements it unless, within that window, it receives official documentation, such as a file-stamped complaint, that the registrant has already filed a lawsuit in the agreed jurisdiction. While a case is pending, the name cannot be moved to a new holder or registrar, so the usual transfer to another person is on hold until it ends.
The cheapest dispute is the one you avoid. Before buying a name that sits close to a brand, read how to buy a domain that is taken, check the history, and ask a lawyer if in doubt. The SERPHeroes marketplace sell page, for one, accepts only “Names that are not someone else’s trademark”.
A limit worth stating: we have no dispute outcomes of our own, and WIPO’s statistics pages give no win rates we could verify, so this guide offers none.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use the UDRP to get a domain I want?
Only if you hold trademark rights and can prove all three elements, including bad-faith registration and use. Wanting the name is not enough.
Does the UDRP cover every country-code domain?
No. Many ccTLDs have adopted it, some use their own variation, and others sit outside both of WIPO’s lists. Check the policy for the specific extension.
Can a panel award damages?
No. The only remedies are transfer or cancellation of the name. Money claims belong in court.
I received an email about a dispute claiming to be from WIPO. Is it real?
WIPO lists every case it administers by case number on its website and invites you to contact it if an email looks suspicious. Check there before replying or paying anything.
The takeaway The UDRP punishes bad-faith use of someone else’s mark. If you buy or hold names, keep your evidence of good-faith use and dates, avoid names that only make sense as a brand, and take a real dispute to a trademark lawyer.
