Domaining Guide

Reverse domain hijacking

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The term reverse domain hijacking refers to the practice of inequitably unseating domain name registrants by accusing them of violating weak or non-existent trademarks related to the domain name.

A widely regarded case of reverse domain hijacking occurred in 2000, when the Deutsche Welle attempted to acquire the domain dw.com from software company Diamond Ware. This attempt was reprimanded as reverse domain hijacking in 2001 by the WIPO [1].

Legal action

The defense and counterclaim of reverse domain name hijacking is valid in either administrative forums or the courts of law.

Administrative Panel is WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization - Geneva)[2], NAF (The National Arbitration Forum