Will Whois Changes from GDPR Cause an Uptick in UDRP Filings?

Elliot Silver
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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:

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WIPO Shares Some Facts About 2017 UDRP Filings

Elliot Silver
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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.

Keep in mind that these facts are from WIPO UDRP filings and don’t include other venues, such as the National Arbitration Forum, The Czech Arbitration Court Arbitration Center for Internet Disputes, Asian Domain Name Dispute Resolution Centre or others. Although the UDRP

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Dribble.com Subject of UDRP Filing by Company Called Dribbble (Updated)

Elliot Silver
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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

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UDRP Filed Against OST.com (Updated)

Elliot Silver
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A UDRP was filed against the valuable three letter .com domain name, OST.com. The UDRP was filed at the World Intellectual Property Organization, and it is listed as Case Details for WIPO Case D2018-0418.

OST.com is a 20 year old domain name, having been created in 1997. For many years, OST.com had been owned by an Arizona company. In January of this year, the Whois record for this domain name went under Whois privacy. As a result, the ownership of OST.com is unclear to me.

When I visited OST.com just now, I was forwarded to

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Domain Name Estate Planning is Important

Elliot Silver
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It has been quite some time since I wrote about domain names and estate planning. People who own valuable domain names or a valuable domain portfolio need to take estate planning seriously. Nobody can cheat death, and ensuring that you have a plan in place can save your loved ones or friends a considerable amount of time and potentially some money.

Recently on NamePros, attorney John Berryhill responded to a thread about domain names and wills. His insight is worth a read when you have a moment, and I think it is a topic to which serious investors need to allocate some time.

When it comes to domain names, it is probably not as simple as walking into an estate planning lawyer’s office and adding a line or two to a will or estate plan. Domain names are treated differently in different jurisdictions. Companies and individuals are also treated differently. Someone who operates a business will likely have a different conversation than

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AEX.com, Used for Cryptocurrency Platform, Subject of UDRP (Updated)

Elliot Silver
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A UDRP has been filed against the high value AEX.com domain name. The UDRP was filed by Euronext N.V. at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The case number is WIPO Case D2018-0348.

It looks like AEX.com is a developed website and business related to cryptocurrency. The AEX about us page states that “AEX (www.aex.com) is a global and professional Digital Asset Exchange Platform.” It looks like users can trade and/or manage Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and other cryptocurrencies. Based on this Reddit post, it looks like the platform launched in November of 2017.

According to the DomainTools Whois History tool, the AEX.com domain name had been owned by Anything.com as recently as May of 2017. Knowing a bit about Anything.com and its domain portfolio as well as some of its publicly known sales, it must have sold for a substantial amount of money. Regardless of its provenance, AEX.com is a valuable domain name.

Euronext owns and operates on the less optimal ccTLD domain name,

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