How are disputes about domain names determined? - Knowledgebase / Legal - Support Portal | Registry Services

How are disputes about domain names determined?

Updated 17 Apr, 2020

The principle "first come, first served" is used for the allocation of .se and .nu domain names.

If someone considers themselves to have a better right to the domain name than the holder, it is possible to contest the allocation of the domain name afterwards.

Please note that the processes are different depending on whether yhe matter concerns a .se domain or a .nu domain.

If the dispute concerns a .se domain, disputes concerning the right to the domain name are settled in The Swedish Internet Foundation's Alternative Dispute Resolution Procedure (ADR).

ADR , in Swedish ‘ATF’, exists so that it is possible to determine the allocation of a domain name in retrospect in a simple way, without having to go to court.

To achieve success in ADR, the applicant for dispute resolution needs to demonstrate that all three of these circumstances (so called prerequisites) are met:

  1. The applicant must have a right (e.g., a trademark, or a company) with validity in Sweden,

  2.  The domain name holder must have acted in bad faith when he/she/they registered or used the domain name, and

  3. The domain name holder have no right or justified interest in the domain name.

More information on ADR can be found here:
https://internetstiftelsen.se/en/dispute-resolution/dispute-resolution-for-se/ 

If the dispute concerns a .nu domain, the dispute is handled by the dispute resolution organization approved by ICANN and the Registrar of the Holder.

Disputes regarding the allocation of .nu domain names are applied under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), a policy developed by ICANN. The Swedish Internet Foundation is not involved in the administration or the  handling of disputes over .nu domains.

More information about the dispute resolution can be found here, https://internetstiftelsen.se/en/dispute-resolution/dispute-resolution-for-nu/

The dispute resolution procedure through ATF or UDRP is an alternative to going to court. A party always has the opportunity to apply to have the case tried in public court.