WIPO to Manage ".uk" Domain Name Disputes from 7 July 2026

 

Jane Lambert

For the last 30 years, NominetUK has managed the ".uk" domain space (see Thirty years of Nominet Guardians of .UK by Paul Fletcher 27 May 2026). For the last 25 of those years, its Dispute Resolution Service ("DRS") has resolved disputes over entitlement to ".uk" domain names.  From 7 July 2026, the DRS will be managed by the Arbitration and Mediation Centre ("AMC") of the World Intellectual Property Organization ("WIPO").

The WIPO is one of five dispute resolution service providers that the ICANN ("Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers") has authorized to resolve gTLD (generic top-level domain) disputes.  The WIPO also assists more than 85 national domain space operators to resolve ccTLD (country code top-level domain) disputes in their jurisdictions.  More information on the WIPO's ccTLD services is available on the page headed "Protect your Intellectual Property online with WIPO’s ccTLD Services" on the WIPO's website.

Information on the changes to dispute resolution in the United Kindom after 7 July 2026 is available from both the WIPO and Nominet.  The WIPO published the announcement "Changes to Dispute Resolution for .UK (United Kingdom)" on its website on 2 June 2026.  Nominet published "Nominet’s DRS: New Administrators, same experts, policies, mediation and fees" on 2r May 2026.  There is also a "Service Update to the DRS" on Nominet's website which was last updated on 8 June 2026. 

Under "What's Changing and When" on that web page, Nominet states: 

"From 7th July 2026, administration of DRS cases will transfer to World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an established global provider of domain dispute resolution services. This change forms part of the .UK Standardisation programme, which modernises how .UK is managed.

The policy and overall direction of the DRS will remain with Nominet, as a core part of our guardianship of .UK."

Under the column heaading "What's Staying the Same", Nominet writes:

• "The DRS Policy remains unchanged, including the types of disputes that can be raised.Nominet’s trained mediators will continue offering free mediation.
• The composition of the Experts panel who make independent decisions will remain unchanged.
• Decision review will continue to be conducted by the review group within the Experts panel, no other party will review decisions.
• Appeals against decisions will still be possible as they are currently under the DRS Policy.
• Nominet’s teams will continue engaging with registrars as they do today to identify the appropriate registrant if they are behind a proxy service.
• Nominet’s teams will continue with the established process to implement the experts’ decisions."

Under "What's Changing" Nominet advises:

• "DRS cases will be raised and managed through WIPO’s system.
• WIPO’s experienced case managers will guide each dispute through the process, as per the DRS Policy.
• All DRS decisions (existing and new) will be searchable and available on WIPO’s website.
• Eventually, all decisions will also be available on nominet.uk and the Decision Search Tool will be retired.
• The same fees will apply as before, however no VAT will be applied. Payment will be made through WIPO."

There is a "Further Information" menu towards the bottom of the page.

WIPO has managed disputes in the ".cymru" and the ".wales" domains for Nominet under the UDRP (Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy) for several years.  I have written about the topic in Welsh Top Level Domain Names on 12 April 2019 in NIPC Cymru.   One of the issues that the "Further Information" menu addresses is "Impact on .cymru and .wales domain name disputes."  The advice is that there is no change and disputes can be resolved through the UDRP and the Uniform Rapid Suspension System. 

Further information on domain names generally can be obtained from the "Domain Name Resources" page on NIPC Branding.  Anyone wishing to discuss this article may call me on +44 (0)20 7404 5252 during UK office hours or send me a message through my contact form at any time.

WIPO's Expedited Domain Name Dispute Resolution Service

WIPO's Geneva Offices

Author Melatron Licence CC BY-SA 3.0  Source Wikimedia Commons

 

Jane Lambert

The World Intellectual Property Organization ("WIPO") domain name dispute resolution service can already resolve a dispute between a trade mark owner and a domain name holder in less time than it takes for statements of case to be exchanged in England and Wales.  The fee that the WIPO charges for resolving the dispute is US$1,500, which is less than many advocates would charge for settling particulars of claim.   That sum is irrecoverable in domain name dispute resolution proceedings, but it will often be no more or even less than the difference between the costs that a successful claimant might spend on launching an interim injunction application and the amount that he or she might recover on a summary assessment.

Domain name dispute resolution will be even faster under a scheme announced yesterday by the WIPO (see Updated WIPO UDRP Fee Schedule and NEW Services).  Under that scheme, decisions can be delivered within a month of filing the complaint.  Claims under the scheme will be managed by a dedicated team of WIPO employees and decided by a special roster of panellists.  There is an additional cost.    Complainants will be charged US$4,000 instead of US$1,500 for the current service.   US$3,000 of that money will go to the panellist, and the rest to the WIPO for administration

This scheme will be suitable for generic top-level domain name disputes (domain names ending in ".com", ".net", ".org" and similar suffixes) and some country code domain name disputes that use the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy, where parties choose their dispute to be resolved by a single panellist.  It would appear to include ".wales" and ".cymru" domain name disputes (see Jane Lambert Welsh Top Level Domain Names 12 Apr 2019 NIPC Cymru and Eich cartref chi. Eich Cymru chi. Eich Parth chi and Your Wales. Your Home. Your Domain). Disputes where a respondent opts for a three-member panel would fall outside the scheme.

Readers who wish to learn more about the scheme should read a helpful article by Doug Isenberg entitled A Faster Option for Resolving Domain Name Disputes Under the UDRP 9 March 2026, Gigalaw. Mr Isenberg is a Georgia lawyer who sits on the WIPO domain name dispute resolution panel and has vast experience in domain name dispute resolution.  For more basic information on domain name dispute resolution, see my resource page on the topic.

Anyone wishing to discuss this topic may call me on +44 (0)20 7404 5252 during normal UK office hours or send me a message through my contact page.

Domain Name Resources

 

Jane Lambert

My interest in domain name dispute resolution precedes the adoption of the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy ("UDRP").  I discussed a proposal by an ad hoc committee set up by IANA (the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority) and the Internet Society for administrative domain name challenge panels to be managed by the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Centre in Domain Name Registration, Oct 1999, NIPC Newsletter.  I believe that I was the first member of any of the United Kingdom Bars to represent a party to a domain name dispute under the UDRP in Case No. D2000-0789 Eddy's (Nottingham) Limited, trading as Superfi v. Mr. Kingsley Smith 7 Sep 2000. At about that time, I applied to join the WIPO's panel of neutrals and was eventually accepted.  Interestingly, in view of the USA's interest in Greenland, the first case that I was asked to decide was a dispute between a US complainant and a Danish respondent (see Case No. D2004-0124 Microsoft Corporation v. TheBuzz Int. 8 Apr 2004).  I attended my first domain name panellists' meeting in October 2005 and have missed only two since then.

In my Domain Name Resources page, which can be accessed from the "Basic Information" panel, I have shared some of the knowledge and experience that I have acquired over the years.   I have grouped the materials (most of which I have written) under the following heads:-

• "Domain Names Generally" starts with my introduction to the topic, which I wrote last week.  I include links to the European Commission's IP Helpdesk's Infographic on Domain Names and Cybersquatting and a Domain Name Glossary. 
• "Domain Name Disputes" introduces the UDRP and other domain name dispute resolution policies. 
  It also contains a substantial bibliography. Other useful resources in the group include an Introduction to Domain Name Dispute Resolution, Domain Name Dispute Resolution Resources,  The Terms that are incorporated into every Agreement to register a Domain Name and Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policies.
• The UDRP and the Rules for Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the "Rules") form a group of their own.
• "Bringing a Complaint under the UDRP" contains guidance on completing a Complaint under the UDRP.
• "Defending a Claim under the UDRP" contains guidance on completing a Response.
• "Challenging a UDRP Decision" discusses some of the cases in which panellists' decisions have been challenged in various jurisdictions.
• "Wales" mentions the dispute resolution provisions for ".cymru" and ".wales" domain names.
• "United Arab Emirates" summarizes the domain name dispute resolution policies for ".ae" and "امارات" top-level domains.
  

This is very much a work in progress.   I shall add more resources as and when I come across them.  Anyone requiring further information may call me on +44 (0)20 7404 5252 during normal UK office hours or send me a message through my contact form.

Trade Mark Resources

Jane Lambert

Over the years, I have written a lot of articles about trade mark law, but I had never organized them in any way until now.  Earlier this afternoon, I compiled a resource page for trade marks similar to the one that I have created for patents.   It can be accessed by clicking "Trade Marks" in the "Basic Information" panel to the right of the page.

"Trade Marks"  discusses registered and unregistered marks in all jurisdictions.  Supplementing it are the "FAQ", an index page to some short articles that I called "Auntie Jane's Trade Mark Tips" and introductions to UK and EU trade mark law.

I mention registration of trade marks, the rights conferred by registration, examination, opposition and certification and collective marks.

Anyone requiring further information may call me on +44 (0)20 7404 5252 during normal UK office hours or send me a message through my contact form.