The DRS is for disputes where you are not the registrant.  If you are the registrant you probably want to look at the sections in the registrant's section of the site on maintaining your domain.  More generally see our FAQ document for help.

Before making a complaint

Read the introduction and help section of the web site.  As a complainant you will need to prove that you have rights and that the registration is abusive, so familiarise yourself with those meanings.  Read the Policy and Procedure, as they are they key documents that all the others rely on. We know that that is a lot of reading, but the DRS is a formal process and the biggest mistake that parties make is not understanding it before they start.

What do I have to demonstrate to make a successful complaint?

In order to make a successful complaint you must prove, on the balance of probabilities, that:
a) You have Rights in a name or mark that is identical or similar to the domain name(s); AND  
b) That the domain name(s), in the hands of the respondent, is an Abusive Registration.

We suggest that you include the following information in your complaint.

Rights in a name or mark

A description of the Rights you are asserting.  This could be that:

• The Domain Name is identical or similar to your company name.
• The Domain Name is identical or similar to your trade mark.
• The Domain Name is identical or similar to your trading name.
• The Domain Name is identical or similar to your personal name.
  

If you are a business you should state:

• How long you have been using the name or mark (evidence should be supplied)
• What goods or services you provide under the name or mark (evidence should be supplied)
• If the business has changed (e.g. gone from sole trader to a partnership, or to a Limited Company or from one limited company to another) explain how the rights (e.g. the goodwill) were transferred.
• If you are asserting other Rights you should enclose evidence of those Rights, for example a birth or marriage certificate in the case of a personal name.
• You should be clear about whether the rights existed before or after the date of registration of the domain name, and if they existed afterwards, explain why they are relevant.
• If you are claiming rights in an acronym (e.g. Automaton Example Ltd claiming rights in AEL.co.uk) you should provide specific evidence of why that acronym is associated with you, and not merely a generic jumble of letters.

Make sure that you explain the situation in detail and provide evidence to back up what you say.

Abusive Registration

In order to show that the domain name(s) is an Abusive Registration, you must prove on the balance of probabilities that teh domain name(s) either:

State the reasons why you consider the registration of the dispute domain names to be Abusive, in particular you should view paragraph 3 of the DRS Policy, for example:

1. Has the Respondent offered to sell the domain(s) name for more than the Respondent paid for it?  If so, did the Respondent approach you with the offer to sell, or did you approach them?
2. Has the Domain Name been registered with the primary purpose of stopping you from using it?
3. Is the Respondent known to your business, for example, a competitor or an ex-employee? Or were they your distributor?
4. Has the Domain Name been used to confuse Internet users? If you are suggesting that users are confused by the registration of the domain name by the Respondent, how you say they are confused, why they are confused, what the effect of the confusion is, and preferably any proof that it has actually caused confusion (rather than just that it is 'likely' or 'obviously' going to do so).
5. Does the Respondent have a history of registering domain names which relate to trade marks in which they have no apparent rights, and if so, is this part of that trend? This does not necessarily have to be restricted to .uk domain names: generic endings such as .com and .org may be relevant too.
6. Has the Respondent given Nominet provably false information about his name and address, and is there independent proof of this? For these purposes, you, and anyone employed by you is probably not independent.
7. Did the domain name become registered to the Respondent as a result of previous dealings between you, and if so, have you been using and paying for it ever since?
8. Has the Respondent been through the DRS before? If so, has an Expert stated 3 or more times in the last two years that the Respondent has made an Abusive Registration?
   

Remember that what you write is all that the expert will see, and subject to the 5,000 word limit, you should explain as fully and clearly as possible what the problem is. If you have spoken to someone at Nominet previously and gone through it with them remember that Nominet staff cannot give you advice on the exact content of your complaint and do not make the decision, so everything you have told us should be repeated.

The questions above mirror paragraph 3 pf the DRS Policy , and so once you have thought of answers for each of the questions look at paragraph 3 of the Policy and then you can use that as a guide for writing your complaint.

It is important to remember that the above list is non-exhaustive and that you may still have a case if you have Rights and your complaint fits with the general definition of Abusive Registration above.

Do I need to submit evidence with my complaint?

It is vital that you refer to evidence in your complaint and then provide it in indexed exhibits or schedules to your complaint (3 copies). Doing this will massively increase your chances of success. Stating "and this can be provided on request" or "see our web site" will not be enough.

Further information is available on our FAQ page.