Geneva, October 12, 2009
WIPO marked the tenth anniversary of the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) on October 12, 2009 with a Conference that brought together over 200 stakeholders from around the world. The Conference took stock of the UDRP experience and drew lessons with a view to informing not only the future of the UDRP but also other processes relating to the Domain Name System (DNS) and in the broader context of intellectual property.
The forward-looking Conference was opened by WIPO Director General Francis Gurry. Conference presentations and discussions were led by intellectual property counsel, UDRP and DNS stakeholders, WIPO domain name panelists, and authorities and individuals concerned with the implementation of dispute resolution mechanisms, including ICANN.
Presentations covered three main themes, namely the development of UDRP jurisprudence and practice (the WIPO Center shared a number of ideas for streamlining the filing, conduct and decision of WIPO UDRP cases), new dispute resolution mechanisms for ICANN’s planned expansion of the DNS, and the emergence generally of conflict between online “identities” and trademark rights as well as issues of accountability of intermediaries.