GigaLaw recently published its Domain Dispute Digest for the Fourth Quarter of 2023. The report highlights the current status of domain name disputes and the changes it has incurred in the previous years.
In the last quarter of 2022, the redressal platforms gave their decisions in 1,962 cases. This was a jump of 11.9%, as compared to the same quarter in previous year.
The Report
The report highlights the rise in the number of domain name disputes. The number of domain name disputes rose above 5,500 in this year.
This is substantially higher than the number of disputes reported in 2021. In 2021, the figure was only slightly above 5,000 domain name disputes.
The number of domain name disputes are rising. However, this isn’t something to be concerned about. Rather it shows an increased acceptability of Domain Name Dispute redressals platforms.
These redressal platforms are being used more than ever. This shows that cyberspace is now conscious of its brand creation might. So much so that a clash over the possession of a brand name or domain name occurs frequently.
The high number of such cases resulting in arbitration is a testimony of that.
Other facts
The report examines the domain name dispute redressal environment through multiple dimensions. Factors other than annual comparison have also been given due.
Among the net number of domain name disputes at 1,963, a whopping 95.61% of them were Transferred. In only a mere 4.11% of domain names disputes, complaints have been Denied.
This shows that if a UDRP has been filed at responsible forums, it is almost 95% likely to be Transferred. Among the TLDs that witnessed the highest number of disputes were obviously .com followed by .shop, .net, .info and .org.
Among ccTLDs the most popular ones in this quarter were .co, .me, .cc, .tv and .md. You can clearly find that none of the TLDs belonging in the list are major ccTLDs or Global economies such as .cn , .tk and .de. However, their names are such that it can be used for various different purposes. These are short and are very trendy extensions. Hence, such extensions also attract a number of disputes.
Brand Protection
Domain Dispute redressals are not only for when the person stealing your domain name does anything illegal. Domain Names are your brand names on the internet and need to be taken very seriously.
When someone uses your brand name, your brand value gets associated with that. Hence, a premium brand actively weeds out any instance of such trademark infringements.
Meta Platforms has come out to be the most active brand name that protects its trademarks through domain dispute procedures. Meta had as many as 38 domain name disputes and 138 disputed domain names in the fourth quarter.
Implications
Frequent domain disputes establish the practicality of domain name arbitration forums. More and more entities are now coming out and using the services of the platform. This shows the user’s confidence in the system.
What is more encouraging is how this growth is sustained throughout the years. It has been completely organic with each year, the redressal system getting more and more traction.
You can read the Report in full detail here.
Join the Discussion