An Empirical Analysis of 15 Years of Australian Domain Name Disputes

The .au Dispute Resolution Policy (auDRP) creates an online mandatory administrative procedure for resolving disputes about .au domain names that contain another’s trade mark. This study is the first – and, to date, the only – detailed quantitative analysis of every one of the 470 determinations made in the procedure’s first 15 years of operation. By identifying the characteristics of each case and its decision-maker, and by analysing which of those are associated with particular outcomes, we provide previously unknown information about the factors that contribute to a case’s success, and about the procedure’s integrity. We find that the rate at which cases succeed has not changed over time and does not differ between the two service providers or between the most prolific panelists. When there is a statistically significant difference in the success rate, it is associated with a difference in the characteristics of the individual case – namely, that the complaint is based solely on a trade mark rather than on a name alone or together with a trade mark, or on a registered rather than an unregistered trade mark, or that the complaint is not defended by the respondent. Importantly, these findings support the conclusion that, contrary to some commonly expressed opinions, the auDRP produces outcomes that are consistent and fair.