Domains are first-come-first-served, trademarks are first-to-register — and the two often collide: a domain you registered may hit someone else's trademark, and a domain matching the brand you built up may be squatted by someone else. The good news is that domain disputes have an administrative resolution mechanism far faster than litigation. This article explains the applicable conditions, burden of proof, and common reasons for losing in UDRP and domestic domain disputes.
1. Distinguish Two Things First
- Domain infringement: you used someone else's trademark as a domain, which may violate domain registration rules and also constitute trademark infringement;
- Domain squatting: someone else registered your trademark as a domain, and you can get it back through a domain dispute procedure or litigation.
Domains and trademarks are independent rights: owning a domain does not mean owning the trademark, and owning a trademark does not automatically give you the same-name domain. When assessing risk, the two systems must be checked separately.
2. UDRP: The Administrative Procedure for Generic Top-Level Domains
ICANN's Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP) applies to generic top-level domains such as .com, .net, and .org, and is administered by institutions such as the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center. For a complaint to succeed, all three elements must be proven simultaneously:
- Identical or confusingly similar: the disputed domain is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which the complainant has rights;
- No legitimate rights or interests: the domain holder has no rights or legitimate interests in the domain;
- Bad faith registration and use: the domain was registered and is being used in bad faith.
The three elements are joined by "and" — none can be missing. In practice, the third is most often lost — if the other party registered the domain before your trademark filing date, or the domain has long been unused with no intent to sell, bad faith is hard to prove.
The remedies are cancellation or transfer of the domain, with no monetary damages; claims for compensation still require court litigation. Common bad-faith circumstances include: registering or acquiring the domain primarily to sell, rent, or transfer it to you or your competitor for profit; registering it to prevent you from using your name or mark in a domain; and registering it to damage your reputation, disrupt your business, or mislead the public.
3. China's National Top-Level Domains: CNNIC's Dispute Resolution Measures
".CN" and ".中国" are governed by CNNIC's Dispute Resolution Measures for National Top-Level Domain Names, similar in logic to UDRP but not identical:
- Applicable conditions (Article 8): the disputed domain is identical to a name or mark in which the complainant enjoys civil rights, or confusingly similar; the domain holder has no legitimate rights or interests in the domain or its main part; and the domain holder's registration or use is in bad faith. The standard here is "civil rights," broader than UDRP's trademark rights — enterprise names, trade names, and similar may also be covered;
- Acceptance time limit (Article 2): where the disputed domain's registration has been in effect for three full years, the dispute resolution institution will not accept the case. If you discover squatting, assert your rights early; past the deadline only litigation remains;
- Decision period (Article 5): the panel decides the dispute within 14 days of its formation;
- Outcome (Article 14): if the complaint is upheld, the domain is cancelled or transferred; otherwise it is rejected;
- Judicial interface (Article 15): the domain dispute procedure does not prevent the parties from bringing the same dispute to court or to arbitration.
The procedure is conducted in Chinese, which is relatively friendly to Chinese rights holders.
4. Domain Squatted: Order of Actions
- Fix the evidence: domain registration time, holder information, website content snapshots (whether it sells the same or similar goods as you, whether it is listed for sale), and evidence of your own trademark use and fame;
- Assess the path: generic TLDs go through UDRP; .cn/.中国 go through a CNNIC-recognized dispute resolution institution; where trademark infringement is established, you may sue directly, and domain proceedings and litigation can run in parallel;
- Persuade before striking: some squatters only want to negotiate price — a precisely worded lawyer's letter is sometimes faster and cheaper than proceedings;
- Mind the deadlines: CN domains registered for over three years are not accepted; UDRP has no similar hard deadline, but the longer time passes, the harder it is to prove bad faith and fame.
5. Defensive Moves for Domains
- As soon as the brand name is set, register the primary domain and common variants immediately — the cost is minimal;
- Register country-code TLDs of your main sales markets (such as .de, .co.uk, .jp) as needed;
- For domains in use, keep up renewals and registrant information maintenance — losing a domain to expiry squatting is an extremely common mistake;
- Keep brand identifiers and content on the site consistent with the trademark, preserving continuous evidence of use for future enforcement;
- When similar domains are used for spoofing sites, complain simultaneously to search engines, payment providers, and social platforms in addition to domain proceedings, cutting off traffic and payment collection.
Domain dispute policies and the rules of registries in various countries change with ICANN and domain name administration bodies. Before actually asserting rights, defer to the latest texts of the UDRP and its Rules published by ICANN, the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center, and CNNIC's current Dispute Resolution Measures for National Top-Level Domain Names and procedural rules. The rules in this article are current as of 2026.
6. Where to Get It Done
To handle the above matters, you can submit a trademark monitoring application through MyTMBee, with a registered trademark agent following up.