UDRP vs .eu ADR vs Nominet DRS: which domain dispute policy applies?
Which policy applies depends on the extension: .com, .net, .org and most gTLDs run under the UDRP, .eu domains run under the ADR Rules administered by both WIPO and the Czech Arbitration Court, and .uk domains run under Nominet's Dispute Resolution Service, which WIPO has administered on Nominet's behalf since 7 July 2026.
Which policy applies to which extension?
| Extension | Policy | Administered by |
|---|---|---|
.com, .net, .org, most gTLDs | UDRP | WIPO and other ICANN-approved providers |
.eu | ADR Rules | WIPO and the Czech Arbitration Court |
.uk | Dispute Resolution Service (DRS) | WIPO, on behalf of Nominet, since 7 July 2026 |
Getting this wrong wastes time. A complaint drafted against the wrong policy's test, filed with the wrong provider, does not transfer anything.
How does .eu ADR differ from the UDRP?
.eu domains do not run under the UDRP itself. They run under their own ADR Rules, made
under EU regulation, and a complainant can bring a case through either of two providers:
WIPO or the Czech Arbitration Court.
The test is also more forgiving for a complainant than the UDRP's. A .eu complaint
succeeds where the domain is confusingly similar to a name you have rights in, and
either the registrant has no rights or legitimate interest, or the domain was registered
or is being used in bad faith - only one of those two grounds, not both, unlike the
UDRP's requirement that bad faith exist at registration and at use.
The full breakdown covers what that means in practice.
How does Nominet's DRS differ from the UDRP?
.uk domains run under Nominet's own Dispute Resolution Service, and Nominet still sets
that policy. Since 7 July 2026, WIPO administers the DRS on Nominet's behalf, and every
new complaint has to be filed through WIPO's website rather than Nominet's own. The test
is framed differently too: instead of the UDRP's three elements, the DRS asks whether you
have rights in a name and whether the domain is an "Abusive Registration," a single
concept covering unfair-advantage registration or use.
The full breakdown covers how that compares to the UDRP.
Why this matters before you do anything
Check the extension first, then the provider. For .com, .net, .org and most gTLDs,
that means the UDRP, filed with WIPO. For .eu, it means the ADR Rules, filed with
either WIPO or the Czech Arbitration Court. For .uk, it means Nominet's DRS, now filed
through WIPO as well.
We handle all three end to end: how to file a UDRP complaint, .eu ADR complaints and .uk DRS complaints.