About Us
The UDRP Exploratory Group initiative arose out of a weekly call hosted by Gerald Levine during which recent UDRP decisions are reviewed, and practice issues discussed. Participants on the call include UDRP panelists, party representatives, dispute administrators, and others with an interest in the UDRP. The four initial drafters of the proposals were and are regular participants on these calls and have come to develop a high regard and respect for each other’s knowledge and experience in the field of domain name disputes.
The four of us decided to try an experiment. Could a small group whose members are closely associated with two constituencies that normally face each other as adversaries in UDRP disputes, namely complainants and respondents, and whose priorities for making changes to the UDRP are similarly usually in opposition, be able to reach consensus on any meaningful proposals for improving the UDRP ecosystem?
Our objective was to develop a limited and focused package of proposals which could have a high likelihood of achieving consensus and, if adopted, would benefit both complainants and respondents.
In that spirit, discussions were begun, pain points were identified, and possible solutions discussed – at times vigorously. Each of the initial four founding members of the Exploratory Group had an effective veto over any proposals. Consequently, the Proposals presented here reflect the achievement of a unanimous consensus among all four initial diverse participants.
The Proposals are not intended to solve all issues concerning the UDRP. However, it is hoped that these Proposals, having been achieved through a hard-won interim consensus, can serve as the foundation for needed improvements to the UDRP and can receive consensus support from the various stakeholder communities.
Exploratory Group members recognize that to achieve meaningful improvements to the UDRP, the focus needs to be on limited, constructive, and non-controversial issues which are likely to achieve widespread support. Our hope is that the work of an expanded Exploratory Group could produce a package of proposals that, because they are already the product of a consensus approach among various stakeholders, would lay the groundwork for a Phase 2 of the RPM that need not be lengthy, fraught, or overly complex. The aim of the Exploratory Group initiative is to develop proposals for the ICANN community that offer a positive, efficient, and practical way forward towards making needed and beneficial improvements to UDRP procedures.
If you are expert, collegial, constructive, and prepared to work in a non-partisan manner for the benefit of all stakeholders, we heartily welcome you to the UDRP Exploratory Group and look forwarding to working with you to further develop the Proposals into future improvements to the UDRP ecosystem.
Exploratory Group Members
Steve Levy
Steve Levy focuses on trademark domain name disputes and has personally researched, drafted, and filed over 600 domain name complaints. Steve is honored to also serve as a Panelist for a number of organizations that offer dispute resolution services under the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) and other dispute policies. He is a frequent speaker on the topic of domain name disputes and is eager to encourage greater awareness of, and participation in this field by stakeholders and practitioners. Prior to his current roles, Mr. Levy led the global intellectual property practice team at the Home Depot, was an associate at the New York office of the Proskauer law firm, and was in-house counsel to Sony Corporation based in Tokyo, Japan.
Georges Nahitchevansky
Georges Nahitchevansky is a partner at Akerman LLP. Georges concentrates his practice in litigation and counseling on trademark, copyright and Internet matters across a broad spectrum of industries both in the U.S. and internationally. He has extensive experience in handling U.S. and worldwide trademark, copyright and Internet enforcement matters, including complex cross border and multi-jurisdictional disputes. Georges is a long serving panelist at WIPO and has helped resolve hundreds of domain name disputes under the Policy.
Website: https://www.akerman.com/en/people/georges-nahitchevansky.html
Zak Muscovitch
Since 1999, Zak has acted as counsel on behalf of both complainants and respondents in over 100 contested UDRP proceedings and other national domain dispute mechanisms. Zak was counsel in several of the earliest precedent-setting court cases in Canada involving the intersection of trademarks and domain names. Zak is General Counsel to the Internet Commerce Association (“ICA”), the Washington D.C. based trade association that has been the voice of domain name investors since 2006. The ICA along with INTA, co-hosted the first ever “Moot UDRP Hearing” in 2021. Zak was a guest speaker at WIPO’s 20th Anniversary of the UDRP in 2019 and is the author of numerous articles on domain name law, such as “A Guide to ICANN Procedure and Policy (2000). Zak has served as a consultant to the Canadian Internet Registration Authority on the Canadian Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy and is active in Internet governance issues through his participation in ICANN’s Rights Protection Mechanisms Working Group (2020) and the Transfer Policy Working Group. Zak is accredited as a UDRP Panelist by the CIIDRC.
Website: DNattorney.com
Nat Cohen
Nat is the founder and owner of Telepathy, Inc., a 25-year-old domain name portfolio business. Since 2010, Nat has served as a Director of the domain name industry trade association, the Internet Commerce Association. Through his personal experience as a respondent in numerous UDRP disputes, he developed an interest in the Policy and views about how it could be improved. For over a decade, he has been advocating for changes to the UDRP through numerous articles and speaking appearances. He has published several articles on the UDRP and on other ICANN related topics on CircleID.com (including several co-authored with Zak Muscovitch), on DomainNameWire.com, and on Westlaw.com. He frequently contributes commentary to the UDRP Digest. He runs UDRP.tools, the most comprehensive search engine for UDRP decisions. He publishes RDNH.com, a website listing every identified dispute where an RDNH finding was made. He previously published a blog with a focus on the UDRP at DomainArts.com. He attended three WIPO Advanced Workshops on Domain Name Dispute Resolution and was a presenter in October 2022. Through Telepathy, Inc., Nat has been a long time member of the ICANN Business Constituency. He participated in the GNSO IGO-INGO Rights Protection Mechanisms Working Group and Phase 1 of the Rights Protection Mechanisms Working Group.
Website: telepathy.com