[nc-udrp] A news release from eResolutions

["Milton Mueller" <mueller@syr.edu>]

Forum Shopping Claims its First Victim
--MM

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eResolution leaves worldwide domain name dispute resolution behind

Montreal (Canada) November 30, 2001 - eResolution announced today its decision to put an end to its online domain name dispute resolution services in order to concentrate more on its software development business.

eResolution was one of four dispute resolution organizations worldwide to be accredited by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), an organization that manages the world's most coveted domain names (".com", ".net", ".org" and ".biz").  eResolution remained to the end the only such dispute resolution provider to offer the administration of the whole process in a protected online environment, thanks to a unique software application that it developed. eResolution's ground-breaking work as the only online domain name dispute resolution service provider constituted the first proof of concept for the online administration of a "quasi-judicial" process on a global scale, thus paving the way for the future of online justice.  eResolution's dispute resolution technology contributed to the resolution of disputes involving parties from some 50 different countries.

The ICANN Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) under which eResolution administered domain name cases continues in force amidst growing controversy concerning the "forum-shopping" phenomenon it appears to have created. The ICANN system was originally meant to allow for fair competition between accredited dispute resolution providers. But the accreditation as provider of the World Intellectual Property Organization, a United Nations agency which contributed the draft of the UDRP and whose purpose is to enhance the protection of intellectual property, tilted the balance from the outset. The sstem gave complainants, who invoke intellectual property rights, the privilege to choose the provider. And statistics were soon released,  and later confirmed,  showing that complainants tended to win significantly more often with some providers, notably WIPO, than with others, notably eResolution, creating a perception of bias from which the system never recovered.

One commentator suggested that the markedly lower complainant success rate at eResolution might be explained by the provider's higher rate of contested cases, which in turn might be linked to the ease with which respondents may file an online response with eResolution.

"Be that as it may, said Professor Karim Benyekhlef, eResolution's president, it is but an open secret that lawyers advising their clients in domain name cases have no scruples about quoting the figures and saying that the odds are better with a given provider. That is the true reason behind the recent Canadian government's decision to ignore the Montreal-based provider - while claiming unfailing support for Canadian know-how in e-commerce - and to take 30 domain names to Geneva for resolution by WIPO - at a much greater cost to Canadian taxpayers.  And that is how the market share of eResolution kept on shrinking to a point where the proceeds no longer covered the costs of maintaining the service. In the end, we were, for all practical purposes, financing the legitimization of a system we knew badly needed change", he concluded.

eResolution will carry out the administration of all pending cases to their completion but will not accept new cases. The Montreal-based company will pursue and step-up its activities as software developer and ASP solutions provider, and will continue providing administered dispute resolution services under existing partnerships with AXA Juridica, BellZinc Corporation and Realnames Corporation.