![GoDaddy's own published domain graphic, showing a WHOIS-style 'Registered to' record card for a domain already held by someone else - the registrant question a domain dispute decides]()
A domain name you have used for years can be claimed by someone who owns a matching trademark. The process is not a lawsuit, and most registrants first meet it when a complaint arrives by email.
We read the domain dispute policy GoDaddy publishes on 20 October 2026 — ICANN's UDRP. It sets a three-part test the complainant must pass, limits what they can win to the name itself, and gives you ten business days to go to court.
Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy as published by GoDaddy, read 20 October 2026
Published at godaddy.com/en-in/legal/agreements - stamped Last Revised 24-10-2019; adopted by ICANN, not written by GoDaddy
All three elements must be proved · remedy is the name only · 10 business days to file suit
📅 Update log:
20 October 2026 — First publication. Read the same day: godaddy.com/en-in/legal/agreements/domain-name-dispute-resolution-policy, logged out, from India, with no domain registered or dispute filed and GoDaddy not contacted; the document carries its own stamp, Last Revised 24-10-2019, and states it was adopted by ICANN and may be modified by GoDaddy only with ICANN's permission, with thirty days' notice. Recorded from this read: a complainant must prove all three elements - confusing similarity to a mark in which they have rights, the registrant's lack of rights or legitimate interests, and registration and use in bad faith; four non-exhaustive bad-faith circumstances are listed, two of them qualified (sale above documented out-of-pocket costs; blocking only where there is a pattern of conduct); three defences are listed, including being commonly known by the name even without trademark rights; the complainant pays all provider fees unless the registrant elects a three-member panel, in which case fees are split evenly; remedies are limited to cancellation or transfer, with no damages; all decisions are published in full; GoDaddy waits ten business days before implementing a cancellation or transfer and will not implement it if a file-stamped court complaint arrives in that window; transfers to another holder or registrar are barred during a proceeding and for fifteen business days after; GoDaddy will not participate in proceedings and may not be named a party; and a registrant who objects to a policy change may only cancel, with no refund. No fee amount appears in the policy and none is stated here.
Lose a domain dispute and you still have ten business days
If someone claims your domain name infringes their trademark, the case is unlikely to start in a courtroom. It starts under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy — the UDRP — which every ICANN-accredited registrar incorporates into its registration agreement. We read the version GoDaddy publishes on 20 October 2026. It stamps itself Last Revised 24-10-2019.
That old date is a feature, not neglect. This is ICANN's policy, not GoDaddy's: the document says GoDaddy may modify it only "with the permission of ICANN", and must post any revision "at least thirty (30) calendar days before it becomes effective".
The clause worth knowing before you ever need it: a decision against you is not executed on the day it lands. GoDaddy "will wait ten (10) business days" — and will not implement it at all if you file suit inside that window.
The three things a complainant has to prove
| Element | The policy's wording |
|---|
| 1. Confusing similarity | Your domain "is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which the complainant has rights" |
| 2. No rights of your own | "You have no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name" |
| 3. Bad faith | Your domain "has been registered and is being used in bad faith" - both, not either |
All three, together. "In the administrative proceeding, the complainant must prove that each of these three elements are present." A name that resembles a trademark but was registered and used honestly fails the test at the second and third elements.
Note the conjunction in element three: registered and used in bad faith. Both halves have to be made out.
What counts as bad faith
| Circumstance | The policy's wording |
|---|
| Registered mainly to sell it to the mark owner or a competitor | For "valuable consideration in excess of your documented out-of-pocket costs directly related to the domain name" |
| Registered to block the mark owner | Only where "you have engaged in a pattern of such conduct" |
| Registered mainly to disrupt a competitor's business | Stated without qualification |
| Used to attract traffic for commercial gain by causing confusion | "By creating a likelihood of confusion with the complainant's mark as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation, or endorsement" |
The policy offers these "in particular but without limitation" — a panel is not confined to the list. Two of the four carry built-in limits worth noticing. Selling to the mark owner is bad faith only where the price exceeds "your documented out-of-pocket costs directly related to the domain name". Blocking the mark owner counts only where "you have engaged in a pattern of such conduct" — a single registration is not a pattern.
Three ways to show the name is legitimately yours
| Defence | The policy's wording |
|---|
| You were already using it for real business | "Before any notice to you of the dispute, your use of, or demonstrable preparations to use, the domain name ... in connection with a bona fide offering of goods or services" |
| You are commonly known by the name | "Even if you have acquired no trademark or service mark rights" - as an individual, business or other organisation |
| You are making fair or non-commercial use | "Legitimate noncommercial or fair use ... without intent for commercial gain to misleadingly divert consumers or to tarnish the trademark" |
The second is the one most people do not know exists. You can defend a domain on the basis that you are "commonly known by the domain name" — and the policy adds, in its own words, "even if you have acquired no trademark or service mark rights". A business trading under its own name without a registered mark is not defenceless.
The first defence has a timing condition built into it: the bona fide use, or demonstrable preparations to use, must pre-date "any notice to you of the dispute". Building out a site after a complaint arrives does not create the defence.
How the process actually runs
| Question | What the policy says | Wording |
|---|
| Who pays the panel's fees | The complainant | Unless you elect a three-member panel, "in which case all fees will be split evenly by you and the complainant" |
| What the complainant can win | Cancellation or transfer of the domain. Nothing else | Remedies "shall be limited to requiring the cancellation of your domain name or the transfer of your domain name registration to the complainant" |
| Time to go to court after a decision against you | 10 business days | GoDaddy waits that long before implementing a cancellation or transfer |
| What stops implementation | A filed, file-stamped court complaint | "Official documentation (such as a copy of a complaint, file-stamped by the clerk of the court) that you have commenced a lawsuit against the complainant" |
| Transfer lock to a new holder | During the proceeding and 15 business days after it concludes | GoDaddy "reserve[s] the right to cancel any transfer ... made in violation" |
| Transfer to a different registrar | Also blocked during the proceeding and for 15 business days after | A transfer during a court action is allowed, but the name stays subject to the proceedings |
| Is the decision private | No | "All decisions under this Policy will be published in full over the Internet", except where a panel redacts parts "in an exceptional case" |
| GoDaddy's role in the case | None | "We do not, and will not, participate in the administration or conduct of any proceeding", and "you shall not name us as a party" |
Two practical points stand out. Defending before a single panellist costs you nothing in provider fees — the complainant carries them unless you ask for a three-member panel. And the outcome is public: "all decisions under this Policy will be published in full over the Internet", with redaction only "in an exceptional case".
GoDaddy's own position is one of deliberate distance. "We do not, and will not, participate in the administration or conduct of any proceeding before an Administrative Panel", it "will not be liable as a result of any decisions rendered", and "you shall not name us as a party". The registrar executes the outcome; it does not argue the case.
Nothing on this page is legal advice. The proceeding itself runs under the separate Rules of Procedure and the selected provider's supplemental rules — documents we did not read for this page. Anyone facing a real complaint should take professional advice immediately, because the ten-business-day window is short.
What you promised when you registered the name
The policy opens with a warranty most registrants never read. By applying to register a domain — or by asking a registrar to maintain or renew one — you represent that your registration "will not infringe upon or otherwise violate the rights of any third party", that you are not registering it "for an unlawful purpose", and that you will not knowingly use it in breach of any law.
It then places the homework squarely on you: "It is your responsibility to determine whether your domain name registration infringes or violates someone else's rights." That sentence is renewed every time the domain is renewed.
One closing clause is worth reading alongside it. If ICANN approves a change to the policy and you object, "your sole remedy is to cancel your domain name registration with us, provided that you will not be entitled to a refund of any fees you paid".
Frequently Asked Questions
Can someone take your domain name because it matches their trademark?
Only if they prove three things at once, not one. The complainant must show that your domain "is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which the complainant has rights"; and that "you have no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name"; and that it "has been registered and is being used in bad faith". The policy is explicit that "the complainant must prove that each of these three elements are present". A trademark match on its own is not enough, and the bad-faith element requires both registration and use. This is ICANN's policy, applied by every accredited registrar, not a GoDaddy rule.
If you lose, do you lose the domain immediately?
No. "If an Administrative Panel decides that your domain name registration should be canceled or transferred, we will wait ten (10) business days ... before implementing that decision." And the decision is not implemented at all if, inside that window, GoDaddy receives "official documentation (such as a copy of a complaint, file-stamped by the clerk of the court) that you have commenced a lawsuit against the complainant" in the agreed jurisdiction. From then on GoDaddy takes no further action until the parties settle, the lawsuit is dismissed or withdrawn, or a court orders otherwise. Ten business days is a short window to instruct a lawyer in — which is the practical reason to treat a complaint as urgent from the day it arrives.
Who pays for a UDRP case?
The person bringing it, with one exception that is in your hands. "All fees charged by a Provider in connection with any dispute before an Administrative Panel ... shall be paid by the complainant, except in cases where you elect to expand the Administrative Panel from one to three panelists ... in which case all fees will be split evenly by you and the complainant." So defending before a single panellist costs you nothing in provider fees; asking for a three-member panel means sharing them. The policy states no amounts — fee schedules are published by each ICANN-approved provider separately, and this page quotes none.
Can the complainant win damages as well as the domain?
Not through this process. "The remedies available to a complainant pursuant to any proceeding before an Administrative Panel shall be limited to requiring the cancellation of your domain name or the transfer of your domain name registration to the complainant." No money changes hands by order of the panel. Separately, the administrative route does not close the courthouse to either side: the policy preserves the right of "either you or the complainant" to take the dispute "to a court of competent jurisdiction for independent resolution" before the proceeding starts or after it ends — where other remedies may be available. That is a general observation, not legal advice.
Can you sell or move the domain while a dispute is running?
No, and the lock outlasts the case. "You may not transfer your domain name registration to another holder (i) during a pending administrative proceeding ... or for a period of fifteen (15) business days ... after such proceeding is concluded", and the same fifteen-business-day bar applies to transferring the name to a different registrar. GoDaddy "reserve[s] the right to cancel any transfer ... made in violation" of that clause. One exception exists: you may move the registration to another registrar during a court action, but the name "shall continue to be subject to the proceedings commenced against you". Changing registrar does not shake off the case.
Prices & codes last verified: October 20, 2026
Zoutons may earn a commission when you buy through links on this page. Every quotation, clause and characterisation here was read on 20 October 2026 from the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy as published at godaddy.com/en-in/legal/agreements/domain-name-dispute-resolution-policy, logged out, from India, with no domain registered and no dispute filed, and GoDaddy not contacted. THIS IS ICANN'S POLICY, NOT A GODADDY RULE. Every ICANN-accredited registrar incorporates it, and the document states GoDaddy may modify it only "with the permission of ICANN". The 24-10-2019 stamp reflects that, not neglect. THIS PAGE IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE AND MUST NOT BE RELIED ON IN AN ACTUAL DISPUTE. It is a plain-language reading of one published policy document. A real UDRP proceeding is governed in addition by the Rules for Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy and by the selected provider's supplemental rules — separate documents we did not read for this page — and outcomes turn on evidence and on panel discretion. Anyone who has received a complaint, or is considering filing one, should take qualified legal advice immediately: the window to commence court proceedings is ten business days. Where this page summarises a clause in plainer words, the policy's own wording governs; quotations are reproduced exactly and the surrounding summary is our reading of them. We do NOT claim that GoDaddy has ever mishandled a dispute, implemented a decision improperly, or applied any clause wrongly, and we make no assertion about any individual case, complainant or registrant. No fee amount is stated anywhere on this page, because the policy states none; provider fee schedules are published separately by each ICANN-approved provider. Policies and terms change; what ICANN and GoDaddy publish at the time prevails over anything here.
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