Ali said that WIPO only acts as an administrative agency, checking filings for proper formatting and rules compliance but then forwarding the complaints and responses on to the WIPO arbitration panelist in charge of the dispute. WIPO places no pressure on panelists, he insisted. The providers don't decide the case. The panelists do. Other problems with the UDRP stem from it being an international procedure somewhere between an arbitration hearing and a court proceeding, Cabell said.
Jurisdiction is one issue.
For example, the United States protects common-law trademarks, or those in use but not registered. Most other countries' trademark laws are registration-driven. Evidentiary issues are also a problem, Cabell said. The problem of precedent also leaves experts divided. The UDRP is silent on the issue of whether one panel is bound by a previous panel's decisions.