{"id":483,"date":"2026-07-23T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipglobalguard.com\/udrp-statistics-2026-q2\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T09:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T09:00:00","slug":"udrp-statistics-2026-q2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipglobalguard.com\/en\/blog\/udrp-statistics-2026-q2\/","title":{"rendered":"UDRP decisions up 11% in Q2 2026: what the numbers say about cybersquatting"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>UDRP decisions rose by more than 11% year on year in the second quarter of 2026, and so did the number of domain names they covered, according to GigaLaw&#8217;s Domain Dispute Digest published on 23 July. These UDRP statistics for 2026 point the same way as WIPO&#8217;s record 2025: cybersquatting keeps growing, and the UDRP remains the main route to recover a domain. For brand owners, the figures are a reason to budget for domain enforcement, not a reason to file weak cases.<\/p>\n<h2>Key takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>2,324 UDRP decisions covering 3,349 domain names were published in Q2 2026: <strong>+11.89% in decisions<\/strong> and +11.08% in domain names on Q2 2025.<\/li>\n<li>WIPO issued 1,337 of those decisions, well over half; the Forum issued 707.<\/li>\n<li>95.07% of the domain names decided were ordered transferred and 0.39% cancelled; 4.54% stayed with the holder.<\/li>\n<li>Panels found Reverse Domain Name Hijacking in 18 decisions (0.77%).<\/li>\n<li>On data to 14 July, WIPO&#8217;s caseload is on track for an annual increase of about 6%.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What do the Q2 2026 UDRP statistics show?<\/h2>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/giga.law\/blog\/2026\/7\/23\/domain-dispute-digest-q2-2026\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Digest<\/a>, prepared by domain name attorney and panelist Doug Isenberg, analyses UDRP decisions published between 1 April and 30 June 2026 by the five ICANN-approved providers, excluding terminated cases unless stated. The UDRP (Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy) is the ICANN procedure for recovering generic domains, such as .com, and the country-code domains that have adopted it.<\/p>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Indicator, Q2 2026<\/th>\n<th>Figure<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>UDRP decisions<\/td>\n<td>2,324 (+11.89% on Q2 2025)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Domain names in those decisions<\/td>\n<td>3,349 (+11.08%)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Domain names transferred \/ cancelled \/ denied<\/td>\n<td>95.07% \/ 0.39% \/ 4.54%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Domain names terminated before a decision<\/td>\n<td>343 (9.29% of all names in decided or terminated cases)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Reverse Domain Name Hijacking findings<\/td>\n<td>18 decisions (0.77%)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Largest case<\/td>\n<td>115 domain names (7-Eleven, Forum)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/giga.law\/s\/2026-q2-domain-dispute-digest.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">GigaLaw&#8217;s Domain Dispute Digest, Q2 2026 (PDF)<\/a>. By extension, .com was the most frequent, and .co (Colombia) was the most frequent country-code domain in UDRP decisions.<\/p>\n<h2>Which providers decide UDRP cases?<\/h2>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Provider<\/th>\n<th>Decisions in Q2 2026<\/th>\n<th>Domain names transferred or cancelled<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center<\/td>\n<td>1,337<\/td>\n<td>95.50% (1,910 of 2,000)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Forum (United States)<\/td>\n<td>707<\/td>\n<td>94.87% (943 of 994)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Czech Arbitration Court (CAC)<\/td>\n<td>202<\/td>\n<td>97.08% (266 of 274)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Asian Domain Name Dispute Resolution Centre (ADNDRC)<\/td>\n<td>68<\/td>\n<td>98.57% (69 of 70)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Canadian International Internet Dispute Resolution Centre (CIIDRC)<\/td>\n<td>10<\/td>\n<td>81.82% (9 of 11)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>WIPO&#8217;s broader caseload, which also includes country-code policies outside the UDRP, reached a record of over 6,200 cases in 2025, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wipo.int\/es\/web\/amc\/w\/news-domain-name-disputes\/2026\/news_0001\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">WIPO Center&#8217;s review of 14 January 2026<\/a>. That caseload will grow further: WIPO took over the administration of .UK disputes from 7 July 2026, as it <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wipo.int\/en\/web\/amc\/w\/news-domain-name-disputes\/2026\/news_0007\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">announced on 2 June<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>What the UDRP numbers do not say<\/h2>\n<p>A transfer rate above 95% does not mean any complaint succeeds. Complainants choose which cases to file, and many weak ones never reach a panel. Three other figures deserve attention:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Terminations: 343 domain names left the system before a decision, often through settlement, which may or may not end in a transfer.<\/li>\n<li>Denials: 152 domain names stayed with their holders because the complainant did not prove all three elements.<\/li>\n<li>Reverse Domain Name Hijacking: under the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.icann.org\/resources\/pages\/udrp-rules-2024-02-21-en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">UDRP Rules<\/a>, this is using the policy in bad faith to try to take a domain from its legitimate holder. It is rare, but each finding is published with the complainant&#8217;s name.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The Uniform Rapid Suspension System (URS), a faster procedure that only suspends names, mainly in new gTLDs, stayed marginal: 47 decisions covering 62 domain names in the quarter.<\/p>\n<h2>What this means for your business<\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li>Budget for enforcement. More disputes mean more registrations targeting brands; monitoring and a few complaints a year are now a normal cost of an online brand.<\/li>\n<li>Prioritise. Act first on names used for phishing, fake shops or email fraud, and keep evidence of use.<\/li>\n<li>Pick the right procedure for each extension: the UDRP for gTLDs and many ccTLDs, national policies for others such as .es or .uk.<\/li>\n<li>Group related names in one complaint against the same holder; WIPO&#8217;s official fee is USD 1,500 for one to five domains with a single panelist (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wipo.int\/en\/web\/amc\/domain-name-disputes\/fees\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">WIPO fee schedule<\/a>).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>If you need these cases run as one programme across several extensions, our team for <a href=\"https:\/\/ipglobalguard.com\/en\/services\/domain-names\/\">UDRP complaints and domain name recovery<\/a> can coordinate them.<\/p>\n<h2>When to bring in an adviser<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>When bad faith is arguable rather than obvious.<\/strong> It must be shown with evidence of targeting and use, not assumed.<\/li>\n<li>When the domain predates your trade mark, which makes bad faith very hard to prove.<\/li>\n<li>When the holder may be a former distributor, licensee or reseller with an arguable interest.<\/li>\n<li>When several names and extensions are involved, so evidence and timing must be coordinated.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n<h3>How many UDRP decisions were issued in Q2 2026?<\/h3>\n<p>GigaLaw&#8217;s Domain Dispute Digest counted 2,324 UDRP decisions published between 1 April and 30 June 2026, covering 3,349 domain names. That is 11.89% more decisions and 11.08% more domain names than in the second quarter of 2025. Terminated cases are excluded from those totals.<\/p>\n<h3>What share of UDRP decisions does WIPO issue?<\/h3>\n<p>In Q2 2026, WIPO issued 1,337 of the 2,324 UDRP decisions counted by GigaLaw, well over half, followed by the Forum with 707 and the Czech Arbitration Court with 202. WIPO also administers many country-code policies and, from 7 July 2026, the .UK Dispute Resolution Service.<\/p>\n<h3>What is the success rate of a UDRP complaint?<\/h3>\n<p>In Q2 2026, panels ordered the transfer or cancellation of about 95% of the domain names decided. That rate reflects the cases complainants chose to file, not the odds of any complaint. A weak case can still be denied or, at worst, lead to a finding of Reverse Domain Name Hijacking.<\/p>\n<h3>Can IP Global Guard file UDRP complaints for our brand?<\/h3>\n<p>Yes. We assess each name, prioritise by risk, prepare the evidence and complaint and manage the case with the provider through to transfer. For country-code domains with their own rules and any court follow-up, we coordinate qualified local correspondents across Europe, Latin America and Africa from a single point of contact.<\/p>\n<h2>Domain enforcement with IP Global Guard<\/h2>\n<p>The trend in the numbers is clear; the response should be planned. IP Global Guard, the IP services line of META Channel Corporation Limited, runs domain monitoring, UDRP and ccTLD complaints and defensive registration with one strategy and one billing relationship across more than 25 jurisdictions; see our <a href=\"https:\/\/ipglobalguard.com\/en\/coverage\/\">coverage across Europe, Latin America and Africa<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Send us the list of domains that concern you, with your trade mark registrations. We will tell you which are worth a complaint, under which procedure and in what order. <a href=\"https:\/\/ipglobalguard.com\/en\/contact\/\">Contact our team<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><em>This article is general information, not legal advice, and reflects the data available on the date of publication.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Sources<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/giga.law\/blog\/2026\/7\/23\/domain-dispute-digest-q2-2026\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">GigaLaw, Domain Dispute Digest (Q2 2026) shows 11% rise (23 July 2026)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/giga.law\/s\/2026-q2-domain-dispute-digest.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">GigaLaw, Domain Dispute Digest, second quarter 2026, PDF (23 July 2026)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wipo.int\/es\/web\/amc\/w\/news-domain-name-disputes\/2026\/news_0001\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">WIPO, 2025 record year for domain name disputes (14 January 2026)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wipo.int\/en\/web\/amc\/w\/news-domain-name-disputes\/2026\/news_0007\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">WIPO, .UK Dispute Resolution Service transfer to WIPO (2 June 2026)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.icann.org\/resources\/pages\/udrp-rules-2024-02-21-en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ICANN, UDRP Rules (updated 21 February 2024)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wipo.int\/en\/web\/amc\/domain-name-disputes\/fees\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">WIPO Center, UDRP fee schedule (valid as of 1 December 2002)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>UDRP decisions and disputed domains rose over 11% in Q2 2026. Key figures by provider, outcomes and RDNH, and what they mean for brand owners planning enforcement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1111,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[60,62,64,58],"class_list":["post-483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-domain-names","tag-icann","tag-new-gtlds","tag-udrp","tag-wipo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipglobalguard.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipglobalguard.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipglobalguard.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipglobalguard.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipglobalguard.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=483"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipglobalguard.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipglobalguard.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipglobalguard.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipglobalguard.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipglobalguard.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}