Intellectual Property Law

Chapter 7 Putting It Into Words Solution

A client has discovered that its domain name, which includes its trademark, has been
registered with a slight misspelling of the client’s name and which diverts potential
customers to a porn site. Draft a paragraph to be inserted into a letter to a client
discussing the advantage of using the UDRP to recover the domain name.

“The Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) provides an
expeditious and inexpensive remedy for you to recover the domain name that
is being wrongfully used to divert customers from your site to the site that
provides pornography. This practice is called “typosquatting,” and although
you may initiate an action for trademark infringement in court and possibly
recover damages, it may be more advantageous for you to file a complaint
under the UDRP. All proceedings under the UDRP are electronic, and there
is no need for you to make any personal appearances or attend any hearings.
The fee to file a complaint is approximately $1,500, and a decision will be
provided within about two months. Although it is not possible to obtain
monetary recovery under the UDRP, if you are successful, the wrongful
domain name will be either cancelled or transferred to you. Thus, we
recommend initiating a proceeding under the UDRP to either cancel this
offensive domain name or have it transferred to you (so that it cannot be
used by any other company or individual).”