Known simply as Forum, the for-profit legal group said 2006 has been the largest filing year since the creation of its domain name dispute program in 1999.
In 2006, the group handled 1,658 Internet trademark disputes. Among the more notable disputes were claims filed involving George Forman, Stevie Wonder, the New York Yankees and Louis Vuitton.
“There continues to be a need for cost-effective and timely resolution of Internet trademark disputes,” Forum Vice President Curtis Brown said. “On average the National Arbitration Forum resolves domain name disputes in less than 50 days compared to what may take years in court.”
Forum, which applies ICANN’s Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy, has handled more than 7,000 Internet domain name disputes since 1999.
To handle the growing caseload, Forum uses more than 1,500 attorneys and retired judges who serve as neutrals throughout the U.S. and in 35 foreign countries worldwide.
Brown said the majority of cases the group handles involve disputes over .com, .org and .net domain names.
The group in 2006 expanded its services to handle disputes involving .mobi domain names.
The World Intellectual Property Organization, a unit of the United Nations, also is an ICANN-approved domain name dispute resolution provider, along with the International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution.
Neither organization had statistics available on the number of domain disputes it handled in 2006.
