UDRP domain name disputes
Recover a cybersquatted domain name through a focused UDRP case
The Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) is an international procedure for abusive domain name registrations covered by the policy, including many generic extensions such as .com, .net and .org.
Dreyfus assists Chinese IP firms and companies with evidence review, complaint strategy, drafting, filing and implementation of the decision. The first question is not simply whether the domain resembles your brand. It is whether the facts satisfy the UDRP test and support the requested transfer or cancellation.
Matter essentials
What the instruction requires
The sections below clarify the route, documents, decisions and local workstream for this specific matter.
The three elements a complainant must prove
Under the UDRP, the complainant must establish all three elements:
- The disputed domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which the complainant has rights.
- The domain name holder has no rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name.
- The domain name was registered and is being used in bad faith.
The WIPO guide provides the official framework and examples of evidence considered by panels. See the WIPO Guide to the UDRP.
Evidence that can determine the outcome
- Trademark certificates, portfolio history and proof of ownership
- Dated screenshots of the website and any redirects
- Offers to sell, emails, impersonation or phishing material
- Evidence of counterfeit sales, pay-per-click use or disruption
- Information showing a pattern of abusive registrations
- Corporate records connecting the complainant to the relevant rights
Evidence should be preserved before contacting the registrant or registrar, because content and redirects can change quickly.
Our UDRP process
- Urgent preservation: capture the domain use, redirections, commercial offers and available registration data.
- Rights and policy check: confirm trademark standing, the applicable dispute policy and the appropriate complainant.
- Merits assessment: test legitimate-interest and bad-faith arguments against the available evidence.
- Complaint and filing: prepare the factual record, legal arguments, annexes and procedural requests.
- Decision and implementation: monitor the case, address procedural issues and coordinate the transfer or cancellation if ordered.
When UDRP may not be the right route
- The extension uses a specific national procedure, including .fr or .eu.
- The dispute is primarily contractual or concerns a former distributor, licensee or business partner.
- The evidence does not support registration and use in bad faith.
- The rights holder needs damages, an injunction or broader disclosure that only a court can provide.
- The domain is a blockchain identifier outside the standard registrar system.
In these situations, we assess negotiation, a national domain procedure, platform action or court proceedings instead of forcing the matter into an unsuitable UDRP complaint.
UDRP domain name disputes
Information needed for an initial review
- The disputed domain name and relevant extension
- The trademarks and entities that own them
- Screenshots, emails, offers to sell and marketplace evidence
- The desired outcome, transfer, cancellation or broader enforcement
- Any urgent launch, fraud or consumer-risk context
For country-code disputes, see recovery of .fr and .eu domain names. For portfolio-wide prevention, see domain name strategy and enforcement.
