Nominet Nominet’s DRS helps avoid more than £8m in estimated court costs

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45% of 2024 domain disputes resulted in a transfer of ownership ​

Nominet, guardian of the .UK domain since 1996, has today released the summary of its domain name disputes brought before its Dispute Resolution Service (DRS) during 2024. It resolved 608 complaints in 2024 – resulting in an estimated £8,150,000 saving in court costs and legal fees for disputes relating to .UK domain names.

Nominet’s DRS seeks to resolve domain name disputes as fairly and efficiently as possible. It aims to settle disputes through mediation and where the parties cannot reach agreement, through an independent expert decision.

The 2024 report reveals that 45% of all domain dispute cases that went through its DRS process in the last year resulted in a domain transfer (276 cases). This is slightly down from 2023 where 48% of cases were transferred – but broadly in line with other years.

In 2024, a higher number of complaints were recorded due to a change in reporting processes. Cases that were opened in one year and closed in another are now counted in the year they are closed, which sees numbers slightly increasing on historical data.

The key stats:

• In 2024, Nominet’s DRS saw cases brought by complainants in 30 countries, with respondents from 44 countries

• The most common industries for disputes were Retail (21), Food, Beverages and Restaurants (16), Banking and Finance (14), Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals (10), and Automotive (10)

• The majority of disputes related to .co.uk domains (506), with fewer in .uk (73) and .org.uk (27)

Nick Wenban-Smith, General Counsel, Nominet, commented:

“We work very hard to promote and protect the .UK namespace and want people and businesses to thrive online. The DRS process helps to ensure that when a very small proportion of disputes inevitably arise, the parties have access to free mediation and a quick and cost-efficient resolution, with final determination by our independent experts.”

See the full 2024 DRS report here.

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