Re: [ga] WIPO Arbitrators Stern In Domain 'Hijacking' Rulings

["John Berryhill" <john@johnberryhill.com>]

>
> That's exacty what we've done. Put the dispute issues where they belong -
> in the courtroom.

Which is to put those issues into a forum where "mom & pop" don't have a
reasonable chance of being able to make an argument.

There are plenty of things wrong about the UDRP, and about many of the
decisions under it.  However, the one thing that the UDRP provides is at
least an opportunity for someone to make their case in simple terms and have
it considered.

If, instead, the domain name registrant were faced with a lawsuit in some
remote jurisdiction, then the registrant is, most likely, not going to have
the time or the means to make repeated appearances in that court, or to know
how to deal with flurries of preliminary motions, or, really, to know how on
earth one responds to a civil complaint in the first place.

A UDRP complaint, at least, arrives with a cover sheet containing
step-by-step instructions for responding, and most of the arbitration
providers have pages where the respondent can fill in an online form.  Now,
that may or may not be the best approach for any individual respondent, but
at the very least it is (a) free and/or cheap, (b) relatively simple, and (c)
a chance.

I've seen several pro se UDRP respondents do quite well... sometimes with a
little coaching ;-), but I haven't seen a single pro se defendant in a civil
case get anywhere.

So, to say "put it back in court" is to say "put it somewhere where money and
legal expertise count for a lot more", which means whoever has the most money
or better lawyers wins.


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