By Steve Levy
Over the past several years, the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) has seen a significant and sustained rise in usage. As of 2024, trademark owners from 133 countries filed over 6,000 cases under the UDRP and national ccTLD variations marking the second highest total since the UDRP’s inception in 1999. In 2025 filings exceeded that number making it the busiest year ever.
In my role as a UDRP panelist since 2015, I experienced this surge firsthand: in 2025, I received more cases than in any prior year. This personal uptick aligns with the broader global trend.
One major driver behind rising UDRP usage is the proliferation of online scams. In 2023, UDRP cases increased by approximately 8% with many complaints targeting multiple fraudulent domains. These cases often involve phishing, malware distribution, and impersonation sites advertising products that are either counterfeit or nonexistent reflecting scammers’ increasing sophistication. UDRP filings also set a new record in 2024 highlighting not only growing enforcement but also consistent effectiveness, with over 95% of decisions ordering domain transfers to complainants.
The rise of UDRP enforcement coincides with the expansion of the domain name ecosystem. Dozens of new gTLDs and increasing use of ccTLDs (such as .ai) have broadened the battlefield, offering bad actors more opportunities to register deceptive domains. Meanwhile, the exploding volume of e-commerce, AI-fueled fraud, and deepfake-enabled scams has reinforced UDRP’s importance as a quick, affordable, and decisive tool.
With online scams continuing their upward trajectory, UDRP usage looks set to grow into 2026. Brand owners are more proactive than ever in scanning for suspicious domain activity, and they view the UDRP as a cornerstone of their digital defense strategies. The flexibility and speed of the policy, which offers decisions in about 60 days, makes it especially valuable amid fast moving online threats.
The data is clear. Use of the UDRP is growing, evolving, and reinforcing its value to brand owners as a frontline defense against digital fraud. As we move into 2026, vigilance and proactivity through monitoring and enforcement will remain essential for any organization committed to protecting its brand and customers online.