A UDRP was filed against the three letter .com domain name, DVT.com. The UDRP was filed at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). It is WIPO case #D2018-0738.

DVT.com is a high value LLL.com domain name that was created back in 1995. The domain name appears to be registered privately, so I am unsure of who the registrant is right now. Archive.org shows that the domain name had been used several years ago as a website for an entity called Delta Vortex Technologies.

My first thought when I saw the DVT.com UDRP is that there is a medical ailment called Deep Vein Thrombosis that is usually abbreviated as DVT. In fact, a Google search of "dvt" shows the first results are all related to DVT information: Mayo Clinic, WebMD, MedlinePlus, Wikipedia entry for Deep Vein Thrombosis, and MedicineNet are the top 5 search results for DVT. There are many other similar results at the top. The DVT.com domain name is parked with pay per click advertising links (PPC), all of which appear to be medical-related:



The → Read More

A UDRP was filed at the National Arbitration Forum (NAF) involving the SNN.com domain name. The decision was released this morning, and the single panelist (The Honourable Neil Anthony Brown QC) denied the UDRP. While it is generally good to see a decision like this on a valuable LLL.com domain name, this one appears to have some extenuating circumstances (allegedly).

In the discussion section of the UDRP, the complainant alleges that the SNN.com domain name was stolen. Here are some excerpts from the UDRP decision that allege theft of the domain name:

"Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in the domain name. Respondent used identity fraud and social engineering to obtain ownership of the domain name. See Compl. Ex. D (Timeline of Theft)."

"Respondent registered and is using the domain name in bad faith. The domain name was probably hijacked in order to sell to a third party, as 3-letter domain names are very valuable in the industry. Further, Respondent’s behavior in stealing the domain name itself indicates bad → Read More

Typically, when a well-known company goes after an exact match domain name in alternative extensions, it is not all that newsworthy. More often than not, the domain names are awarded to the complainant without much fanfare. It looks like the Washington Post filed two UDRPs that will be interesting to follow given the usage of the domain name.

A UDRP was filed against WashingtonPost.news and a UDRP was filed against WAPO.news. Both filings were at the National Arbitration Forum (NAF), so the complainant is not published yet. One can assume the Washington Post is the complainant in case #1775737 and case #1775738.

While these may look somewhat cut and dry given the pretty much exact match of a well known news publication brand, the way they are being used could make these UDRP filings more notable. It looks like there is a website on each of these domain names, and it is pretty clear that neither is associated with the Washington Post.

One look at the (more…) → Read More

The Whois system is going to change to the GDPR regulations that are coming very soon. There was discussion about these changes at the most recent ICANN meeting, and I know the ICA is working to address concerns of domain investors and domain name owners in general.

One concern I have is related to UDRP filings. From what I understand, the UDRP was created as a way to help brands and trademark holders recover domain names from cybersquatters. A brand owner that is concerned about a domain name infringing on its mark can do a Whois search to see who owns the domain name, and that offer some clarity. This clarity could cause them to opt to not file a UDRP because they know it is going to be a loser for them.

I will illustrate my concern with an example: (more…) → Read More

It seems that UDRP filings have been increasing every year, and 2017 was no different. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is the largest UDRP provider. Yesterday evening, WIPO published a report about UDRP filings in 2017, and I wanted to share some of the facts with you.

2017 WIPO UDRP Facts:

• 3,074 UDRP filings


• Three industries (Banking / finance, fashion, and internet / IT) accounted for nearly one-third of all cybersquatting disputes.


• .Store, .Site, and .Online were the most frequently disputed new gTLD extensions.


• The US had the most UDRP filings.


• Philip Morris filed the most UDRP disputes


• Since 1999, there have been over 39,000 UDRP filings encompassing over 73,000 domain names.

The one word Dribble.com domain name is the subject of a UDRP that has been filed at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The UDRP is WIPO Case D2018-0419.

Dribble.com was registered over 20 years ago in 1997, and the domain name is registered to a company in Minnesota. Using DomainTools Historical Whois tool, I was able to see the Whois record as far back as 2002, and it looks like the same entity owned the domain name back then. When I visited Dribble.com this morning, I saw a default landing page with PPC advertising that appears to be generated by the hosting company (Host Monster) and not managed or controlled by the domain name owner.

The UDRP was filed by a company called Dribbble Holdings Ltd. You will notice the company has 3 b's in its name rather than the correct spelling of "dribble." The company's website can be found on the exact match Dribbble.com domain name. When I visited the Dribbble.com website, I saw (more…) → Read More