By Doug Isenberg
If you could pay several hundred dollars (or even less) for something that often costs thousands of dollars, should you do so? The answer, of course, is, “it depends.” It depends on whether the items are truly comparable — or, is one merely a cheaper imitation of the other?
This is true not only when shopping for consumer goods and services, but also for legal services — even (and, perhaps, especially) in the area of domain name disputes, including the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP).
Domain Name Wire, a popular blog for domainers, recently wrote about a $499 service from a company called Domain Skate. The service — on sale “for a limited time” for only $399 — is advertised as a “proprietary web application to prepare and file your own UDRP complaint, quickly and hassle-free.”
While the service may sound appealing, Domain Name Wire issued this caution: “The ideal customer for DomainSkate is someone who hasn’t filed a UDRP before. Which is exactly the type of company that needs a lawyer, since they’re less likely to understand the requirements of winning a case.”
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By Doug Isenberg
Keeping up with domain name law and news is a challenging task, but after nearly 17 years of legal practice in this area, I’ve compiled a short list of “go-to” websites that keep me informed and educated. Here, then, are the best and most important sites I visit on a regular basis (some, daily), which should be of help to anyone interested in this area of law:
1. ICANN’s UDRP Page. This website contains the text of the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), the most important document for resolving domain name disputes. Although I can recite large parts of it verbatim sight-unseen, I still refer to it (and the UDRP Rules linked to it) regularly when advising clients on domain name disputes, drafting UDRP complaints (or, occasionally, UDRP responses) or writing UDRP decisions in my role as a panelist.
2. WIPO’s “Domain Name Dispute Resolution” Page. Probably one of the best sources of information about the UDRP and other domain name dispute policies, the website of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) offers a searchable database of decisions, statistics about domain name disputes, filing details, information about country-code top-level domains (ccTLDs), model forms and much more.
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By Doug Isenberg
Although ICANN’s recently launched Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH) boasts that it will help you “protect your trademark online,” the truth is that while it offers some important protections, it also has significant limitations. And, despite all of the recent webinars, news articles and client alerts, a number of misunderstandings persist.
To be certain, the TMCH is an important part of the new top-level domain (gTLD) program, and trademark owners would be foolish not to participate in it. But, no one should be lured into a false sense of online brand security simply because they have submitted their trademarks to the TMCH.
Yes, by registering your trademarks with the TMCH in a timely manner, you will be able to participate in appropriate “sunrise” periods as new gTLDs come online. And, for limited periods of time, others will be alerted of your rights.
But, keep in mind the following shortcomings of the TMCH:
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All content on this blog is written by Doug Isenberg, a domain name attorney and founder of 