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Dispute resolution (ADR)

ADR – to be able to easily appeal

Alternative Dispute Resolution proceedings (ADR) are in place so that you will easily be able to appeal the allocation of a domain name retroactively without needing to go to court. Speed, effectiveness and legal security are .SE’s guidewords for dispute resolution.

As early as 2003, new, more simple rules for dispute resolution were created. At the same time, the rules for domain name allocation were changed to the principle of “first-come, first-serve”, i.e. the first party to apply for an available domain gets it without preliminary examination.

The National Top Level Domains for Sweden on the Internet Act has been in force since July 2006, which requires there to be a functioning dispute resolution system. The current regulations fulfill the legal requirements well.

Three absolute requirements

In order for a party petitioning for dispute resolution to achieve success, that party must show that three conditions, absolute requirements, are met.

• The applicant must have a right (e.g. a brand or company name) valid in Sweden.
• The registrant of the domain name shall have acted in bad faith when he/she registered or used the domain name.
• The registrant shall also have no right or justified interest in the domain name.

An example of bad faith is if someone has registered a domain name in the knowledge that the designation comprising the domain name belongs to someone else, with the intent of selling it. Bad faith can also include the registration of domain names with the intent of disrupting a competitor’s business. Registering the brand or family name of another party is an example of not having a right or justified interest in the domain name.

Independent arbitrator

The 13 arbitrators within ADR make their decisions entirely independently in light of the regulations that apply and the practice that has been developed. All arbitrators are experienced lawyers and knowledgeable in intellectual property rights. They include professors, barristers or IT lawyers and have no connection to .SE (other than the organization working as a secretariat).

The aim of the dispute resolution is to solve a certain type of conflict in which the applicant in an ADR matter either requests that one or more domain names be transferred to it or deregistered. Only relatively uncomplicated disputes can be decided through ADR.

Contacts for ADR

If you have further questions regarding ADR, please send an e-mail to atf@iis.se or call +46-8-452 35 00.