Oto co dostałem przed chwilą z WIPO w odpowiedzi na mój wczorajszy mail. Jakieś pytania?

Dear Sir,

If you have trademark or common-law rights in a name that is similar or confusingly similar to the domain name in question, your recourse may be to initiate an action seeking the transfer of the domain name in question under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP). http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/gtld/udrp/index.html

As an administrative alternative to court proceedings, the UDRP provides an efficient option for the resolution of disputes between a domain name registrant and a third party-trademark or service mark owner over the abusive registration and use of an Internet domain name.

According to Paragraph 4(a) of the UDRP, trademark or service mark owners can obtain the transfer of the domain name if they establish each of the following criteria:

(i) the domain name registered by the domain name registrant is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which the complainant (the person or entity bringing the complaint) has rights; and

(ii) the domain name registrant has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name in question; and

(iii) the domain name has been registered and is being used in bad faith

The UDRP provides a number of examples of the above mentioned criteria (ii) and (iii). (http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/rules/index.html).

The Center as an independent and impartial body cannot give any views about the strengths and weaknesses of a party's case, or provide any legal assistance outside of general references. However, the Center's Index of WIPO UDRP Panel Decisions offers easy access for parties to the legal and other information contained in WIPO decisions. http://www.wipo.int/cgi-bin/domains/search/legalindex?lang=en. When using the Index of Decisions, it is recommended to enter only one criterium at a time for optimal results.

See also the WIPO Overview of WIPO Panel Views on Selected UDRP Questions at http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/search/overview/index.html.

The WIPO Center's role is to administer the proceedings, which includes receiving the Complaint, verifying that it satisfies the formal requirements of the UDRP, UDRP Rules and WIPO Supplemental Rules, co-ordinating with the concerned registrar(s) to verify registration details, notifying the Complaint to the Respondent, sending out case-related notifications, appointing the Administrative Panel and otherwise ensuring that the administrative proceeding runs smoothly and expeditiously.

The UDRP procedure normally should be completed within some 60 days of the date the WIPO Center receives the Complaint. For a case filed with the WIPO Center involving between 1 and 5 domain names that is to be decided by a single Panelist, the fee is USD1500; for 3 Panelists, the total fee is USD4000.

The most frequently asked questions with respect to the UDRP procedure are answered in WIPO's Guide to the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy, available at http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/guide/index.html. A WIPO Model Complaint and Filing Guidelines may be found at http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/complainant/index.html.

As you rightly pointed out, Texas International Property Associates has been involved as Respondent in a number of UDRP cases administered by the Center. You may find a comprehensive list by typing "texas" in the "Named respondent" box at http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/statistics/.

I hope this answers your question. Do not hesitate to contact us again should you have any further question on the UDRP.

Sincerely,
Annick Regard
Information and External Relations Section
WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center