IP: International Panel Resolves First Domain Dispute

[David Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/01/cyber/articles/15domain.html

January 14, 2000


International Panel Resolves First Domain Dispute
By JERI CLAUSING

WASHINGTON -- In the first test of a new international system for resolving
disputes over Internet domain names, a panel in Geneva on Friday took an
address away from a man accused of trying to peddle it to the World
Wrestling Federation for a hefty profit.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which began
carrying out the dispute-resolution policy late last year, applauded the
decision as proof that such cases can be settled without costly and lengthy
litigation.

The case was resolved in less than 40 days at a cost of $2,000 to $3,000,
the lawyers involved said. That compares to a minimum cost of about $10,000
to $15,000 for resolving even the simplest of cases in federal civil court,
which can take years to resolve, they said.

"We are pleased that the policy is in place and working," Louis Touton, vice
president and general counsel for ICANN, said in a telephone interview from
the group's offices in Marina del Rey, Calif.

The new system, called the Uniform Dispute Resolution Process, was the first
substantive policy put in place by ICANN after it was selected by the
Clinton administration to take over administration of the Internet's domain
name system.

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