July 6th, 2020
FIRST SEMI-ANNUAL COMPREHENSIVE WIPO REPORT – Part I

The vast majority of UDRP cases are heard by WIPO Panelists.  As my regular readers know, every 6 months I have given a run-down of the Panelists who have been most favorable to domain investors.  However, this time, I have performed a comprehensive review of every decision published by WIPO from January 1 to June 30, 2020, so that you may have a better understanding of what is REALLY happening in UDRP.  The first statistic that I found to be interesting and important is that in 6 months, WIPO Panelists have decided 1,364 claims of which 1,137 (83%) were uncontested and in all but 4 of these cases, the domain names were ordered transferred to the claimant. This is why domainers are called “cybersquatters” by trademark holders and the general public.

So now it gets interesting.  Of the 227 cases decided by a total of 105 different Panelists, 122 (54%) were ordered transferred with 105 (46%) Denying the Complaint.  The Respondent Domain Investor won every case decided by 3 Panelists. There were findings of Abuse by the Complainant (RDNH) in 8 Decisions.

This Report is in 2 parts, as I name for the first time, the Panelists who have consistently ordered the Transfer of the Domain Name to the Complainant.  Part II will be the listings of the Panelists who have been the most favorable for the last 6 months, the 12 months ending June 30th and all-time all-stars over the years.

PANELISTS MOST FRIENDLY TO COMPLAINANTS

9.  HARRIE SAMARAS -3 Transfers

8.    STEPHANIE HARTUNG – 3 Transfers

7.   NICK GARDNER – 4 Transfers – 3 Denials – 1 RDNH

6.   DEANNA WONG WAI MAN – 4 Transfers

5.   W. SCOTT BLACKMER – 6 Transfers – 5 Denials – 1 RDNH

4.   ASSEN ALEXIEV – 5 Transfers – 1 Denial

3.   JOHN SWINSON – 5 Transfers – 5 Denials

2.   REYES ESTEBARANZ – 5 Transfers – 2 denials

1.   WARWICK ROTHNIE – 9 Transfers – 3 Denials

So, if you are faced with having to defend a UDRP and intend to Respond to the Complaint, these are the Panelists that you may not want to hear your case, especially if you cannot or will not come up with the $2,000 for a 3 person panel.