Class 46 readers involved in domain name disputes may be interested in WIPO’s conference marking the 20th anniversary of the UDRP.

The conference takes place in Geneva on 21 October 2019 and is organised by the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center. In the 20 years of the UDRP, WIPO has handled more than 45,000 cases, and the conference will look at the lessons learned as well as what the future holds.

The conference begins with a welcome by WIPO Director General Francis Gurry and introduction by Brian Beckham, Head of the Internet Dispute Resolution Section, and Erik Wilbers, Director of the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center.

Topics covered during the conference will include:

• The UDRP in numbers
• Reviewing core substantive and procedural UDRP guideposts
• The UDRP panellist’s experience
• A trade mark owner’s enforcement perspective
• The UDRP as a best practice; the CCTLD landscape
• The evolving DNS: from .com to keywords, domaining and branded TLDs
• The UDRP’s ability to address evolving bad faith
• The future of the UDRP
• IP dispute resolution models for platforms

There will also be opportunities for discussion, as well as coffee and lunch breaks. The conference concludes with a cocktail reception.

The conference is targeted at UDRP panellists, brand owners, trade mark practitioners, counsel, academics, registrars, ccTLD administrators and other domain name and Internet stakeholders.

Space is limited and the registration fee is Sfr250. You can register for the conference here.

New ccTLD services

Practitioners might also like to note that WIPO has recently added dispute resolution services for the .CN and .中国 (China) and .UA (Ukraine) domains. In addition, the .MX (Mexico) service has gone paperless.