IP: ICANN UDRP Raises Panelist Allocation Bias Concerns

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

> Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2001 08:19:45 -0400
> To: farber () cis upenn edu
> From: Michael Geist <mgeist () uottawa ca>
>
> Dave,
>
> I have just completed a study on the ICANN UDRP that may be of interest to 
> you and your readers.  Study is at
> http://aix1.uottawa.ca/~geist/geistudrp.pdf
>
> It reviewed all 3094 ICANN UDRP decisions (through July 7, 2001) and found 
> that when providers control who decides a case (which they do for all 
> single panel cases), complainants win just over 83 percent of the 
> time.  When provider influence over panelists diminishes, which occurs in 
> three-member panel cases, the complainant winning percentage drops to 60 
> percent.  In addition to the dramatic difference in outcome between single 
> and three-member panels, the study finds that case allocation appears to 
> be heavily biased toward ensuring that a majority of cases are steered 
> toward complainant-friendly panelists. As of July 7, 2001, an astonishing 
> 53% of all NAF single panel cases (512 of 966) were decided by only six 
> people.  The complainant winning percentage in those cases was an 
> astounding 94%.  WIPO, meanwhile, has failed to assign even one of its 
> 1629 single panel cases to at least two panelists perceived to be 
> pro-respondent.  Of the 104 WIPO panelists to have decided five or more 
> cases, all but one have complainants winning at least 50% of the time.
>
> In conjunction with the release of the study, I have ported much of the 
> collected data to the Web.  Udrpinfo.com features a searchable database of 
> the track record of individual panel members with more features to 
> come.  Beta version of the site is at http://www.udrpinfo.com.
>
> Media coverage this morning includes
>
> Do Cyberspace Court Panels Favor Trademark Holders? (sub required)
> http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB998251965684550590.htm
>
> Web Arbitration Biased: Study
> <http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/GIS.Servlets.HTMLTemplate?tf=tgam/common/FullStory.html&cf=tgam/common/FullStory.cfg&configFileLoc=tgam/config&vg=BigAdVariableGenerator&date=20010820&dateOffset=&hub=headdex&title=Headlines&cache_key=headdexBusiness&current_row=15&start_row=15&num_rows=1>
>
> Thanks.
>
> MG
> --
> **********************************************************************
> Professor Michael A. Geist
> University of Ottawa Law School, Common Law Section
> 57 Louis Pasteur St., P.O. Box 450, Stn. A, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 6N5
> Tel: 613-562-5800, x3319     Fax: 613-562-5124
> e-mail: mgeist () uottawa ca
> URL:    http://www.lawbytes.com
>
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> - the Canadian Internet Law Resource Page (CILRP) at: http://www.cilrp.org/
> - my bi-weekly Globe & Mail Cyberlaw column at http://www.globetechnology.com
> - my new Internet law textbook at 
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> - Butterworths monthly newsletter Internet and E-commerce Law in Canada at 
> http://www.butterworths.ca/sampleinternetandecommercelawincanada.htm.
>
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