The WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center has announced that it has administered a total of 50,000 cases under the UDRP.

The 50,000 cases cover almost 91,000 domain names and involve parties from over 180 countries.

In a statement, WIPO Director General Daren Tang said: “The 50,000th case just received by WIPO shows that the UDRP system remains as relevant to global consumer protection as it was when WIPO proposed it over 20 years ago.”

Increase in cases filed

WIPO also says that many domain name registration authorities have reported an increase in the number of domain names registered, since more people have been working from home. 

This has led to a boom in cases filed with WIPO. In the first 10 months of this year, the WIPO Center handled 3,405 cases – an 11% increase on the same period last year.

Erik Wilbers, Director of the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center, said: “With a greater number of people spending more time online during the pandemic, cybersquatters are finding an increasingly target-rich environment. Rights owners, meantime, are stepping up their brand enforcement on the Internet as they further shift to marketing and selling online.”

WIPO is one of six approved dispute resolution service providers for the UDRP. General information about the UDRP is available on ICANN’s website.