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Facebook cybersquatter asks ICANN to overturn UDRP ruling

Kevin Murphy, December 5, 2024, 11:01:41 (UTC), Domain Policy

A registrant who lost a slam-dunk cybersquatting complaint to Facebook owner Meta has asked ICANN to overturn the ruling, accusing WIPO of of breaching the UDRP rules by not publishing its decision fast enough.

The registrant apparently registered meta-platforms-inc.com earlier this year out of “frustration”, and in a state of some distress, after her social media accounts were closed by Meta. Meta’s full name is Meta Platforms Inc.

The registrant then asked Meta, when contacted by its lawyers, for financial compensation in exchange for the domain, according to WIPO’s findings (pdf).

It’s pretty much a clear-cut case of cybersquatting under the UDRP, and Meta prevailed. The domain was transferred to its ownership.

But the registrant has now complained to ICANN, using its Request for Reconsideration accountability procedure, saying WIPO broke its rules and behaved “fraudulently”.

The RfR is somewhat confusingly written, but the main thrust appears to be based on a misunderstanding of the UDRP rules, which require panels to submit their rulings to WIPO within 14 days of the complaint being submitted.

The registrant takes this to mean that the decisions also need to be published online within 14 days, which doesn’t appear to be the case. She wants the decision overturned on this basis.

Regardless of the merits, the RfR has zero chance of success. UDRP losers have tried and failed to invoke the Reconsideration policy to have their decisions reversed in the past.

Most notably, in 2022 Indian Covid-19 vaccine maker Zydus Lifesciences got miffed about the Reverse Domain Name Hijacking ruling it was given and filed two RfRs with ICANN.

The first was dismissed because RfR is used to challenge ICANN’s decisions and WIPO is not ICANN. In the second case, the Ombuds made a rare intervention to confirm that ICANN has no responsibility for UDRP rulings.


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