Online dispute resolution: The phenomenon of the UDRP

Abstract

The intangible nature of intellectual property (‘IP’) makes it easily moved across national boundaries, with the consequence that infringement - and, hence, enforcement - of IP rights not uncommonly has a cross-border element. The opportunities for cross-border infringement of IP rights were significantly enhanced by the development of the Internet, and in particular by the adoption of the World Wide Web (the ‘Web’) as the mechanism of choice for the commercial dissemination of intangible subject matters. With the advent of the Web, copyright-protected creative material, trademark-protected badges of origin, and (to a lesser extent) patent-protected inventions could be made available to cons..