ICANN has recently appointed the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to be the exclusive provider of dispute resolution services when a third party files a formal “Legal Rights Objection” or “LRO” to a pending application under the new gTLD program. 

In assessing the validity of an LRO, the WIPO panel will decide whether the applied-for gTLD (i) takes unfair advantage of the unique character or the reputation of the objector’s registered or unregistered trademark, intergovernmental organization (IGO) name or acronym, or (ii) without justification, the gTLD impairs the distinctive character or the reputation of the objector’s mark, IGO name or acronym, or (iii) creates an impermissible likelihood of confusion between the applied-for gTLD and the objector’s mark, IGO name or acronym.

For objections based on registered or unregistered trademark rights, WIPO has indicated that the following factors will be considered by the appointed panel...

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