The UDRP: A Stunning Success Or A Spectacular Failure?

• Author: Adrian Bannon
• Pages: 125-136

Cork Online Law R eview 2006 12

Bannon, The UDR P: A Stunning Success or a

Spectacular Failu re?

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THE UDRP: A STUNNING SUCCESS OR A SPECTACULAR

FAILURE?

Adrian Bannon

The Internet is increasingly becoming a public marketplace. The

increase in Internet usage has been remarkable. However, in order to be

accessible to the Internet world, it is a prerequisite that the user be issued

with an Internet Protocol (IP) address. The issuance of IP numbers is a

relatively straightforward and non-problematic task. However, as the

number of Internet users has increased exponentially, pressure has grown

for a more memorable means of identification. Subsequently, in 1987, the

system of domain names came into effect and the difficulty involved in

locating a computer’s numeric IP address was somewhat alleviated.

A INTRODUCTION

In the early days of the Internet, each computer on the network was

identified by a unique, numerical string called an Internet Protocol (IP)

address. However, since an IP address is in numerical form, it is neither very

user-friendly nor geographically descriptive. Consequently, the Domain Name

System (DNS) was established and developed with the express intention of

imposing a hierarchical naming system that would be more user-friendly than

the unsystematic assignment of IP addresses. Each domain name address

corresponds to exactly one IP address.1

The Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), the

dispute settlement instrument of the Internet Corporation for Assigned

Names and Numbers (ICANN), has been the subject of much contention and

debate in recent times. As this paper will go on to illustrate, a large number of

articles and commentaries have been written on the subject and some legal

experts have discussed it at great length. The most vociferous and critical of

which have been, for example, Dr. Michael Geist2 and Professor Milton

Mueller,3 who are of the opinion that the UDRP is inherently biased in favour

of trademark holders.

Consequently, this paper endeavours to briefly define and explain the

concept of domain names. Following will be an analysis of pertinent articles

relating to the UDRP and its implications. This paper’s principle objectives are

to examine the evolution of the UDRP, to evaluate the appropriateness of its

uses and to consider its future.

B WHAT ARE DOMAIN NA MES?

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1 Harte, A. A. “The Domain Name Debate” (2001) Te chnology and Entertainment Law

Journal-Vol.2, No .1, p.2.

2 Geist, ‘Fair.com? An Examination of the Allegations of Systematic Unfairness in the IC ANN

UDRP’, August 20 01 [available online] at: http://aix 1.uottawa.ca/~gei st/geistudrp.pdf.

3 Mueller, ‘Rough J ustice: An Analysis of ICANN’s D ispute Resolution Policy’ [availab le

online] at: http:// www.dcc.syr.edu/r oughjustice.htm.