UDRP

Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy. A private arbitration system run by ICANN where trademark holders can challenge your domain registration without going to court. You don't need a lawyer, but you will lose your domain if an arbitrator decides the trademark owner has stronger claim. UDRP applies to .com, .net, .org, .biz, and most new gTLDs. The complainant files, you respond, an arbitrator decides. No appeal. Fast, cheap for them, brutal for you if you lose. Key threshold: they must prove your domain is confusingly similar to their mark, you registered it in bad faith, and you have no legitimate right to it. Common cases: typosquatting, exact-match cybersquatting, camping valuable brands. Some ccTLDs and sponsored TLDs ignore UDRP entirely—which is part of why offshore registries matter. UDRP is not criminal law; it's contractual. You can't go to jail. But your domain vanishes. Many registrars fold immediately on UDRP complaints without even forwarding notice to you. We forward complaints. You get a real chance to respond.