The .rw Domain Dispute Resolution Policy, Explained

If you own a trademark and someone registers a matching .rw domain to trade on your name, or you're a registrant who's just received a complaint, there's a defined process that decides who keeps the domain. It's set out in RICTA's .rw Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy, and it applies to every .rw domain whether you've read it or not, because it's built into the registration agreement you accept when you buy a domain.

This guide walks through what the policy says, what it takes to win a case, and how a registrant can defend one. The version described here is dated 30 September 2024. RICTA can revise the policy, so always check the current text on the official source before relying on it: the .rw Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (PDF) and RICTA's registrars page.

This article is a plain-language explainer, not legal advice. For a live dispute, read the full policy and the accompanying Rules, and consider talking to a lawyer.

What the policy is (and who runs it)

The policy is RICTA's adaptation of the widely used UDRPThe Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy, the standard process for resolving trademark disputes over domains. model (the same framework that governs .com and most other domains worldwide) for the .rw namespace. RICTA is the registryThe organization that operates a top-level domain and maintains the master database of its registrations. for .rw; if you're new to that role, our explainer on what RICTA is covers the background.

RICTA itself doesn't judge disputes. Cases are heard by one of two accredited providers:

• The WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (the "WIPO Center"), and
• The Kigali International Arbitration Center ("KIAC").

RICTA's role is limited to implementing whatever the panel decides. It won't take part in the proceeding and won't be liable for the outcome.

The three things a complainant must prove

This is the heart of the policy. To take a .rw domain away from its registrant, a complainant has to prove all three of the following (Paragraph 4(a)):

1. Confusing similarity: the domain is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark the complainant has rights in.
2. No legitimate interest: the registrant has no rights or legitimate interests in the domain.
3. Bad faith: the domain was registered or is being used in bad faith.

Miss any one of these and the complaint fails. A domain that happens to match a brand isn't enough on its own; the complainant still has to show the registrant has no legitimate claim to it and that bad faith is involved.

What counts as "bad faith"

Paragraph 4(b) gives four example situations that, if a panel finds them, are evidence of bad faith. The list isn't exhaustive, but these are the classic patterns:

• Registering to resell the domain to the trademark owner (or a competitor) for more than your out-of-pocket costs.
• Blocking the trademark owner from using their mark in a domain, where you've done this as a pattern of conduct.
• Disrupting a competitor's business by registering the domain.
• Trading on confusion: using the domain to draw internet users to your site for commercial gain by creating a likelihood of confusion with the complainant's mark.

CybersquattingRegistering a domain that matches someone else's brand, usually hoping to resell it or exploit the confusion. (grabbing a brand's domain hoping to sell it back at a profit) is the textbook example the first point describes.

How a registrant can defend a complaint

The policy isn't one-sided. A registrant who has a genuine claim to the domain can defeat a complaint by showing any of these (Paragraph 4(c)):

• You were using the domain, or preparing to use it, for a real business (a bona fide offering of goods or services) before you heard about the dispute.
• You (as a person, business, or organization) have been commonly known by that name, even without a registered trademark.
• You're making a legitimate non-commercial or fair use of the domain, without trying to mislead customers or tarnish the mark for commercial gain.

In other words, if the name is genuinely yours or you're using it honestly, matching someone else's trademark doesn't automatically cost you the domain.

Fees, panels, and remedies

Who pays. The complainant pays the provider's fees. The one exception: if the registrant elects to expand the panel from a single member to three, the two sides split the fees evenly.

What a panel can order. The remedies are deliberately narrow (Paragraph 4(i)). A panel can only:

• cancel the domain name, or
• transfer it to the complainant.

There are no damages, no monetary awards, and no costs: the dispute is purely about who ends up holding the domain.

Publication. Decisions are published in full online, except where a panel decides in an exceptional case to redact part of the ruling.

You can still go to court

The administrative proceeding doesn't replace the courts. Either party can take the dispute to the courts of Rwanda before the proceeding starts or after it ends (Paragraph 4(k)).

There's an important safeguard built in for registrants. If a panel orders a transfer or cancellation, RICTA waits ten business days before acting. If, during that window, you file a lawsuit against the complainant and send RICTA proof (such as a court-stamped copy of the complaint), RICTA holds off on the decision until the court case is resolved.

Your domain is frozen during a dispute

While a case is pending (and for fifteen business days after it concludes), you can't transfer the domain to a new owner, and you can't move it to a different registrarAn accredited company that sells and manages domain registrations on a registry's behalf. (Paragraph 8). This stops a registrant from dodging a decision by shuffling the domain elsewhere mid-dispute. If a domain is transferred in breach of this, RICTA can reverse the transfer.

The policy can change

RICTA reserves the right to modify the policy (Paragraph 9). When it does, it posts the revised version on its registrars page at least 30 calendar days before the change takes effect. If a complaint has already been filed, the version in force when it was filed governs that case through to the end. That's why the 30 September 2024 date matters: a future version may differ, so confirm the current text before you act on it.

How to stay out of a dispute in the first place

The easiest dispute is the one that never happens. A few practical habits go a long way:

• Pick a name that's genuinely yours. Our guide on choosing a domain name for your business covers how to avoid names that trip over someone else's brand.
• Check before you register. A quick trademark and WHOIS lookup tells you whether a name is already spoken for.
• Keep your registration details accurate and lawful: that's exactly what you represent to the registry when you register or renew (Paragraph 2).

Ready to register the right name the right way? Start on our domains page, or read what a .rw domain is if you're weighing your options first.