Someone else registered your brand as a domain. We get it back.
We file the complaint that transfers the domain to you. About two months, from €1,050 plus the WIPO fee.
How it works
Filing to transfer
About two months, filing to transfer
Complaint filed
day 0WIPO checks it complies with the Rules and notifies the registrar, which locks the domain so it cannot be sold or moved.
Formalities check
3 to 5 daysAmendments are requested if anything is missing.
Response period
20 daysThe registrant may reply. Most do not, though default does not win the case on its own.
Panel appointed
about 5 daysOne panelist, or three if either side asked and paid for it.
Decision
14 daysDecided on the documents. There is no hearing and no cross-examination.
Transfer
10 business daysThe registrar implements it, unless the registrant starts court proceedings in that window.
About two months, filing to transfer. Step 1, Complaint filed (day 0): WIPO checks it complies with the Rules and notifies the registrar, which locks the domain so it cannot be sold or moved. Step 2, Formalities check (3 to 5 days): Amendments are requested if anything is missing. Step 3, Response period (20 days): The registrant may reply. Most do not, though default does not win the case on its own. Step 4, Panel appointed (about 5 days): One panelist, or three if either side asked and paid for it. Step 5, Decision (14 days): Decided on the documents. There is no hearing and no cross-examination. Step 6, Transfer (10 business days): The registrar implements it, unless the registrant starts court proceedings in that window.
Will it work for you?
A panel has to be satisfied of three things. All of them, not two. If your case fails one, we tell you before you spend anything rather than after.
All three must be proved. Paragraph 4(a) of the UDRP
Identical or confusingly similar
The domain matches a trademark you own. A registration anywhere in the world will do, and the extension is disregarded.
No rights or legitimate interests
The registrant has no business under that name. You make out a prima facie case, then the burden shifts to them.
Registered and used in bad faith
Both, not either. A domain registered before your trademark rights existed cannot have targeted them.
Outcome
The domain is transferred to you
All three must be proved. Paragraph 4(a) of the UDRP. 1. Identical or confusingly similar: The domain matches a trademark you own. A registration anywhere in the world will do, and the extension is disregarded. 2. No rights or legitimate interests: The registrant has no business under that name. You make out a prima facie case, then the burden shifts to them. 3. Registered and used in bad faith: Both, not either. A domain registered before your trademark rights existed cannot have targeted them. Outcome: The domain is transferred to you
Decisions we work from
Every UDRP argument rests on published decisions. Each one below has its own page here, summarising what it settled, with a link to the full text at WIPO.
- Telstra Corporation Limited v. Nuclear Marshmallows
- Case
- WIPO D2000-0003, 2000
- Domain
- telstra.org
- Outcome
- Transferred
A domain name that hosts nothing at all can still be used in bad faith, where the mark is well known, the registrant concealed their identity and no good faith use is plausible. This is the origin of the passive holding doctrine.
- Oki Data Americas, Inc. v. ASD, Inc.
- Case
- WIPO D2001-0903, 2001
- Domain
- okidataparts.com
- Outcome
- Complaint denied
Sets the conditions under which a reseller has a legitimate interest in a domain containing the manufacturer's mark: it actually sells the goods, the site sells only those goods, it accurately discloses the relationship, and it does not corner the domain market. The complaint was denied.
- Bruce Springsteen v. Jeff Burgar and Bruce Springsteen Club
- Case
- WIPO D2000-1532, 2001
- Domain
- brucespringsteen.com
- Outcome
- Complaint denied
The domain was identical to the complainant's unregistered mark, but the registrant showed some rights or legitimate interests and bad faith registration and use was not made out. The complaint failed on the second and third elements.
- Excelentisimo Ayuntamiento de Barcelona v. Barcelona.com Inc.
- Case
- WIPO D2000-0505, 2000
- Domain
- barcelona.com
- Outcome
- Transferred
The panel ordered transfer of a geographic name to the city authority.
The transfer was later reversed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. A useful reminder that a UDRP decision is not final and can be displaced by a court.
Protecting brands before there is a problem
Most domain disputes are won by people who registered a trademark first. Without one there is no complaint to bring.
EU trademark
€1,530
One class, all in. Includes the €850 EUIPO fee and covers all 27 member states.
€895 after EU SME funding
UK trademark
€715
One class, all in. Separate from the EU since 2021, so selling into both needs two.
EU design
€830
One design, all in. Protects what the product looks like, not its name.
€570 after EU SME funding
The EU pays 75% of the official fees
The EUIPO SME Fund reimburses 75% of trademark and design application fees for EU-based small businesses. There is one rule that catches people out: the voucher has to be granted before you file. File first and the money is gone.
Who does this work
Gergana Dimitrova spent three years inside the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center, the body that administers the UDRP. She supervised and guided a team of 20 legal case managers, advised on the issues that came up as cases were run, and proposed which panelists should hear which disputes according to what each case needed. She also supported panelists directly with jurisprudential analysis and legal research.
Since 2024 she has sat as a domain name panelist at the Czech Arbitration Court, deciding disputes rather than arguing them. Complaints get drafted knowing how panels read them.
Adora IP works out of Madrid and Sofia, in English, Spanish and Bulgarian.
WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center
Legal Officer, 2018 to 2021
Czech Arbitration Court
Domain name panelist since 2024
ECTA Internet Committee
Member since 2023
Bulgarian Patent Office
IP Scan Expert, EUIPO SME Fund
Send us the domain name and we will tell you whether a complaint would succeed.
The first assessment is free and comes back within 24 hours. If the case is weak we explain why rather than take the fee.