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<TD width="5%"><IMG src="cid:wi_logo2.gif" border=0></TD>
<TD>
<H2> Press Release 463</H2>
<H3>Geneva, October 16, 2006</H3>
<HR SIZE=1>
</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD vAlign=top align=left bgColor=white></TD>
<TD>
<H2>WIPO HANDLES ITS 25,000<SUP>TH</SUP> DOMAIN NAME CASE</H2>
<P>In just seven years of operation, the caseload of the Arbitration and
Mediation Center of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
topped the 25,000 mark with a case that has just been decided. Since it
launched its domain name dispute resolution services, the WIPO Center has
resolved disputes under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy
(UDRP) and various other policies. The 25,000<SUP>th</SUP> case related to
a cybersquatting dispute handled under the UDRP in which the panelist
ordered the transfer of the domain name <redlionhotels.com> to the
trademark owner, the Red Lion Hotels chain.</P>
<P>In the period since the launch of its dispute resolution services under
the UDRP in December 1999 through August 2006, 9,567 UDRP or UDRP-based
cases (generic top level domains, gTLDs and country code top-level
domains, ccTLDs) have been filed with the WIPO Center, covering 17,912
separate domain names involving parties from 136 countries.</P>
<P>These figures rise to 25,085 cases (please see Annex 1) when the
caseload of the various ad hoc "sunrise" dispute resolution policies,
designed to avoid the flood of cybersquatting cases generated by the
initial introduction of domain names, namely .info Sunrise, .biz STOP,
.name ERDRP and .mobi Sunrise cases, are taken into account. As these
policies are applicable for a limited time, these cases are received on a
non-recurring, one-off basis. With the exception of the cases in the .mobi
domain, which has commenced only recently, all WIPO sunrise cases have
been resolved. These so-called sunrise policies established procedures
that offered trademark owners additional means to preempt and counter
abusive and bad-faith registration of their trademarks as domain names
within a specified start-up phase.</P>
<P>Most of the 9,567 UDRP and UDRP-based disputes concern international
domains, with .com representing some 79% of names involved, followed by
.net (11%), .org (6%), .info (2%), and .biz, .travel, .aero and .edu
(jointly 2%).</P>
<P>Of the total of 9,567 UDRP and UDRP-based cases the Center has received
through August 2006, 8,936 (97%) have been resolved. In the 7,011
decisions they have rendered, WIPO panels have found for the complainant
in 5,842 (84%) cases and 1,112 (16%) were denied. The remainder of the
resolved cases were settled by the parties.</P>
<P>The 9,567 UDRP and UDRP-based cases included 418 cases involving domain
names registered in ccTLDs. Three hundred and eighty eight of these have
now been resolved, through 240 decisions in favor of the complainant, 43
decisions in favor of the respondent and 105 settlements between the
parties, with 30 cases still pending. The Center now provides services for
disputes in 47 ccTLDs (full list available at <A
href="http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/cctld/"><FONT
color=#800080>http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/cctld/</FONT></A>) such
as .au (Australia), .ch (Switzerland), .co (Colombia), .fr (France), .mx
(Mexico), and .tv (Tuvalu). The latest domain to join this list has been
.es (Spain) in early 2006.</P>
<P>The Center also offers dispute resolution services for
registrations in non-Roman ("non-ASCII") scripts such as Arabic, Chinese,
Cyrillic or Korean ("internationalized" domain names) and has so far
received 60 complaints in relation to such names, of which six are
pending. The number such cases is expected to increase in future. The
Center has managed proceedings in 12 languages, namely, Chinese, Dutch,
English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese,
Russian and Spanish.</P>
<P>For background information on the UDRP and related information, please
see <A
href="http://www.wipo.int/edocs/prdocs/en/2006/wipo_pr_2006_435.html"><FONT
color=#800080>http://www.wipo.int/edocs/prdocs/en/2006/wipo_pr_2006_435.html</FONT></A>.</P>
<P>For further information about all the activities of the Center, please
visit the Center’s web site at <A href="http://www.wipo.int/amc/"><FONT
color=#800080>http://www.wipo.int/amc/</FONT></A> or contact the Media
Relations and Public Affairs Section at WIPO:</P>
<UL>
<LI>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%">Tel: (+41 22) 338 81 61 or (+41 22) 338 95
47;</P>
<LI>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%">E-mail: <A
href="mailto:publicinf@wipo.int"><FONT
color=#0000ff>publicinf@wipo.int</FONT></A></P>
<LI>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%">Fax: (+41 22) 338 82 80.</P></LI></UL>
<P>Annex 1
<TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=7 width=614 border=1>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD vAlign=top width="18%"> </TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%"><B><FONT size=3>
<P align=center>UDRP</FONT></B></P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%"><B><FONT size=3>
<P align=center>.info</FONT></B></P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%"><B><FONT size=3>
<P align=center>.biz STOP</FONT></B></P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%"><B><FONT size=3>
<P align=center>.name EDRP</FONT></B></P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%"><B><FONT size=3>
<P align=center>.mobi</P>
<P align=center>Sunrise</FONT></B></P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%"><B><FONT size=3>
<P align=center>Total</FONT></B></P></TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD vAlign=top width="18%">
<P>1999</P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%">
<P align=right>1</P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%">
<P align=right>-</P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%">
<P align=right>-</P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%">
<P align=right>-</P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%"> </TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%">
<P align=right>1</P></TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD vAlign=top width="18%">
<P>2000</P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%">
<P align=right>1,857</P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%">
<P align=right>-</P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%">
<P align=right>-</P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%">
<P align=right>-</P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%"> </TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%">
<P align=right>1,857</P></TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD vAlign=top width="18%">
<P>2001</P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%">
<P align=right>1,557</P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%">
<P align=right>1,579</P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%">
<P align=right>53</P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%">
<P align=right>-</P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%"> </TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%">
<P align=right>3,189</P></TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD vAlign=top width="18%">
<P>2002</P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%">
<P align=right>1,207</P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%">
<P align=right>13,593</P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%">
<P align=right>285</P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%">
<P align=right>1</P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%"> </TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%">
<P align=right>15,086</P></TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD vAlign=top width="18%">
<P>2003</P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%">
<P align=right>1,100</P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%">
<P align=right>-</P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%">
<P align=right>-</P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%">
<P align=right>-</P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%"> </TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%">
<P align=right>1,100</P></TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD vAlign=top width="18%">
<P>2004</P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%">
<P align=right>1,176</P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%">
<P align=right>-</P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%">
<P align=right>-</P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%">
<P align=right>3</P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%"> </TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%">
<P align=right>1,179</P></TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD vAlign=top width="18%">
<P>2005</P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%">
<P align=right>1,456</P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%">
<P align=right>-</P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%">
<P align=right>-</P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%">
<P align=right>1</P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%"> </TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%">
<P align=right>1,457</P></TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD vAlign=top width="18%">
<P>Jan-August 2006</P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%">
<P align=right>1,213</P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%">
<P align=right>-</P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%">
<P align=right>-</P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%">
<P align=right>-</P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%">
<P align=right>3</P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%">
<P align=right>1,216</P></TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD vAlign=top width="18%"><B>
<P>Total</B></P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%"><B>
<P align=right>9,567</B></P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%"><B>
<P align=right>15,172</B></P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%"><B>
<P align=right>338</B></P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%"><B>
<P align=right>5</B></P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%"><B>
<P align=right>3</B></P></TD>
<TD vAlign=top width="14%"><B>
<P
align=right>25,085</B></P></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></P></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
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