National Arbitration Forum publishes URS Supplemental Rules: complaints start at $375, appeals at $300

The National Arbitration Forum published its proposed URS Supplemental Rules that includes the URS fee structure:

Effective July 1, 2013, this version of the FORUM’s URS Supplemental Rules govern the FORUM’s administration of the UDRP. These Supplemental Rules have not yet received final approval from ICANN and are subject to revision before July 1, 2013.

The National Arbitration Forum was chosen by ICANN as the first Uniform Rapid Suspension System (URS), an inexpensive and rapid means of suspending domain names registered in generic top level domains (gTLDs) launched after January 1, 2013.

“We were thrilled to be announced as the first URS Provider,” said Kristine Dorrain, National Arbitration Forum’s Director of Internet and IP Services. “We believe our years of experience handling tens of thousands of UDRP cases, along with our commitment to utilization of technology and fair decision-making, contributed to our selection. We’ve been working hard to build and enhance the online filing and case management technologies to ensure a fast, hassle-free URS.”

The URS was billed as cheaper and faster than the UDRP, which typically sees decisions in around 45 days at a price of approximately $1,300. The FORUM plans to offer the URS, which can obtain a suspension in around 20 days, for $375. The FORUM will be posting the Supplemental Rules, FAQs, and demonstrations at http://domains.adrforum.com/, as they become available.

UDRP and URS cases filed with the National Arbitration Forum are heard and decided by Dispute Resolution Panelists who specialize in domain name, trademark, copyright and/or e-commerce law. Panelists are located around the world and can conduct proceedings in several languages including Dutch, English, French, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian, Chinese and Korean.

While the UDRP applies to domain names registered in new or existing gTLDs, the URS will only apply to domains registered in new gTLDs as well as select country-code TLDs that elect to adopt it.