Alternative Dispute Resolution

Alternative Dispute Resolution

The National Arbitration Forum recently issued a decision regarding the ownership and use of the Hillary Clinton web address. This decision was based on the facts presented to the National Arbitration Forum in lieu of a formal lawsuit. The choice to use arbitration as a means of dispute resolution is included in the contract terms provided by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). The National Arbitration forum hears thousands of cases each year under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy and has in fact created their own set of rules for making decisions on these matters (National Arbitration Forum, 2005).

On February 1, 2005 Hillary Clinton's lawyers filed a complaint with the National Arbitration asserting legal rights to the web address hillaryclinton.com. The complaint contended that the current owner of the domain name should not have the legal right to its use and was currently using it in bad faith. Michele Dinoia the registered owner of hillaryclinton.com was using the disputed domain to direct Internet users to a site that displayed a generic search engine, links to commercial websites, pop-up ads, and pay-per-click search results. Furthermore, the domain would bookmark itself as the visitor's home page each time the Internet browser was opened (National Arbitration Forum, 2005).

On February 7, 2005, Notification of Complaint and Commencement of the Administrative Proceeding was sent via postal, email, and fax to Dinoia and all persons listed on the domain name's registration documents. The notification set a deadline of February 28, 2005 for a Response to the Complaint. After no response was received the National Arbitration Forum sent a Notification of Respondent Default to all parties (National Arbitration Forum, 2005).

The specific relief sought in this claim is for ownership of the domain name hillaryclinton.com to be transferred from Michele Dinoia to Hillary Clinton. The relief was requested because the domain is identical to the complainant's HILLARY CLINTON mark, the respondent has no rights or legitimate interest in the name, and is using the domain in bad faith. Finally, the fact that the Dinoia did not respond to the claim is provided in support of the claim.

Arbitration was handled by