Decoding International Domain Name Law: The Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy

On 24 October 1999, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers implemented the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (‘UDRP’) as a dispute resolution procedure for resolving domain name disputes. The UDRP has been a very popular method for resolving disputes, and since its inception the principal UDRP global dispute resolution provider – the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center, has administered over 68,829 proceedings under the UDRP. This article will reflect on UDRP’s twenty-five-year history as the international legal and regulatory framework for internet domain name disputes. The paper will first provide an overview of domain names. It will then trace the historical background for the establishment of the UDRP, and then finally examine some of the key provisions of the policy.