Some entrepreneurs and domain name holders believe that some decisions under the policy have been overreaching. Many trademark owners, however, believe that decisions under the policy have been fair and cost-effective. Arbitration panels have denied relief when a complainant has not proven all three elements, even in situations where the domain name holder failed to respond. In the majority of UDRP domain name proceedings, the domain name holder fails to respond. After this default, the domain name challenger typically is made the owner of the disputed domain name.
Controversial decisions receive the most attention.
Some commentators have criticized these decisions as improper on the basis that no one person can have exclusive rights in common words found in the dictionary. For a fee, a reply brief may be filed in proceedings before the National Arbitration Forum. Panelists tend to be trademark or intellectual property specialists. Panelists tend to be from academia. As of April 2001, more than 3000 domain name proceedings covering 6016 names had been filed.