Someone posted an interesting UDRP-related question in the Legal Section of DN Forum yesterday. The person asked; If a Complainant filed a UDRP for multiple domain names owned by a single entity, are the panelists forced to make an “all or nothing” decision, or could they determine that some of the domain names should be transferred while others should be kept by the current owner?
Domain attorney John Berryhill provided evidence that a split decision could be reached. Berryhill cited the Yell Limited v. Ultimate Search UDRP Case No. D2005-0091. The disputed domain names in this case were YEL.com, YellWeb.com, UKYellowPages.com and LondonYellowPages.com. In the end, the panelists ruled that:
“For all the foregoing reasons, in accordance with Paragraphs 4(i) of the Policy and 15 of the Rules, the Panel orders that the domain names, yellweb.com, ukyellowpages.com and londonyellowpages.com, be transferred to the Complainant.
The Complaint relating to the domain name yel.com is dismissed.” — Source: ADMINISTRATIVE PANEL DECISION Yell Limited v. Ultimate Search
In the end, the Respondent was able to retain the most valuable domain name of the group.