Nominet, the registry for .uk domains released, the yearly report on domain disputes it handled in 2019. It introduced its Dispute Resolution System back in 2001 for this purpose.
eBay and Gumtree, Pierre Balmain SA, the Taunton Angling Association, and Groupon make up some of the most noteworthy cases of the year.
Now, let’s look at some stats:
- 0.007% of the total .uk domains i.e. 801 disputed domains were brought to the DRS. 47% of the times, the domain was transferred to the complainant.
- Retail (10), Food, Beverages and Restaurants (9), Internet (9), Banking & Finance (8), Automotive (6) and Fashion (5) were the most common industries in the complaints that resulted in full decisions.
- Complainants span across 26 countries, with the UK topping the list with 511 cases. Respondents were spread in 41 countries, the UK leading again with 584.
- 78% cases involved .co.uk domains, while .uk, .org.uk and .me.uk domains took up the rest.
- Three appeals were filed, out of which 2 overturned the original decision while one is still going on.
- About £6.1 million in court and legal fees were saved, assuming fee of £15,000 per case.
Nominet doesn’t profit from the DRS as the decision fee is paid to the Experts judging the case. It also keeps such records public. You can know how the DRS works here, and the details of all decided cases here.
