FAQs for .SE DOMAIN NAME CASES

If a .SE domain name that is identical or similar to a legal right in Sweden has been registered and/or used in bad faith, the owner of that legal right may choose to either file a claim in a general court in Sweden or initiate an ADR proceeding with WIPO.

The main advantage of ADR is that it is typically more time- and cost-efficient than bringing an action before a court.  In addition, Arbitrators who decide ADR cases are experts in intellectual property law and have extensive experience in domain name legal issues.

It takes about three months for a case to be resolved from the date the Petitioner submits the Petition to WIPO.

Once WIPO has formally notified the Domain Holder of the Petition and commenced the administrative proceeding, the Domain Holder has 30 days to respond.  Depending on whether the case is to be resolved by one or three Arbitrators, it then takes a further 20 or 45 days respectively for a decision to be rendered.

The Petitioner may choose an accelerated proceeding when submitted its Petition and it is characterized by;

• a reduced decision timeframe (the Arbitrator has only ten days to render a decision)
• a more concise decision.

The accelerated proceeding is optional.  It is only available when the Petitioner chooses to have the case decided by a single Arbitrator, and it is applicable only if the Domain Holder has not participated in the proceedings. (See sections 9-12 of the .SE Procedural Rules.)

An accelerated proceeding does not incur any additional cost for the Petitioner.

The Petition and Response should be sent by email to WIPO using the email address domain.disputes@wipo.int. (See section 3 of the .SE Procedural Rules)

The ADR is only available for disputes concerning an alleged abusive registration or use of a domain name, which meet the following three criteria;

1. the domain name is identical or similar to
1. a trade symbol (trademark or service mark),
2. a trade name or secondary business namerd,
3. a surname,
4. an artist’s name (if the name is not associated with someone who deceased a long time ago),
5. a title of another party’s copyrighted literary or artistic work,
6. a name that is protected by the Regulation concerning Certain Official Designations (2019:167), or
7. the name of a government authority that is listed in the registry that Statistics Sweden must maintain under the Swedish Code of Statutes SFS 2007:755 (Government Agencies Register Ordinance), or its generally accepted abbreviation, which is legally recognized in Sweden and to which the party requesting dispute resolution can prove its rights, and
2. the domain name has been registered or used in bad faith, and
3. the Domain Holder has no right or legitimate interest in the domain name.

See paragraph 7.2 of the .SE Policy.

The Swedish Internet Foundation will lock the domain name during the ADR proceeding to prevent deregistration or transfer of the domain name to a third party.  (See paragraph 5.4.1 of the .SE Policy)

The lock of the domain name will not impact the use of the domain name (i.e. the website content will not be suspended and could still resolve to an active website).

The Petition must be filed in Swedish or English.  

The decision will be rendered in the same language as the Petition.   

The Domain Holder can choose to respond to the Petition in either Swedish or English.  (See section 26 of the .SE Procedural Rules)

Anyone can initiate an ADR proceeding, yet certain conditions must be fulfilled for a Petition to be registered. It is therefore recommended that the Petitioner carefully familiarize itself with the .SE Policy and .SE Procedural Rules, especially regarding;

• the right with a legal basis in Sweden,
• bad faith registration or use of the domain name, and
• rights or justified interest in the domain name.

The same requirements apply to accelerated proceedings.

A non-profit association can initiate an ADR proceeding, but the name of the association itself is not included as a right in the .SE Policy.  The non-profit association must therefore supplement its Petition with supporting evidence showing that they have such a recognized right in Sweden, for example a trademark, trade name or other right under paragraph 7.2 of the .SE Policy.

A non-profit association registered in the trade register (handelsregistret) with the Swedish Companies Registration Office can be considered to have a right under paragraph 7.2 of the .SE Policy.   The same applies to a non-profit association that is not registered in the trade register but is conducting economic activities.

While the assistance of a lawyer may be helpful, there is no requirement that the Petition or the Response be prepared or submitted by a lawyer.

Parties in ADR proceedings are responsible for their own expenses i.e. compensation is not awarded.  (See sections 27 and 29 of the .SE Procedural Rules)

The Domain Holder’s contact information is accessible by searching the domain name in The Swedish Internet Foundation’s WhoIs service.  

The publicly available WhoIs information for .SE does not disclose the registrant details of private persons.

Once a Petition is submitted, WIPO will send a request to The Swedish Internet Foundation to receive the information about the Domain Holder.  WIPO will then send an invitation to the Petitioner to amend its Petition to include this information.

The cost of ADR depends on who applies, the number of arbitrators appointed in the case and the number of domain names in dispute.

Please note that the filing fee must be paid at the time the Petition is submitted.

The Swedish Internet Foundation handles payments and any potential refunds of the filing fee.  For questions about the filing fee, please contact The Swedish Internet Foundation.

The accelerated procedure does not incur any additional cost for the Petitioner.

The Model Petition form is available at https://www.wipo.int/amc/en/docs/complaint-se.pdf.

The Petition should include, among other things, contact and payment information, the number of arbitrators and remedy requested, and whether the proceeding is to be accelerated or not.

The Petition should detail the circumstances of the case, including the following three elements;

• the right with legal recognition in Sweden,
• the bad faith actions on part of the Domain Holder, and
• why the Domain Holder does not appear to have a right or justified interest in the domain name.

The arguments should be substantiated by evidence.

Please note that there are also other requirements that must be fulfilled.  (See sections 3-12 of the .SE Procedural Rules)

Yes, all three elements in paragraph 7.2 of the .SE Policy are mandatory.

Must

• The Domain Holder has prepared to use – or has already used – the domain name, e.g. with regard to sales of goods and services on a website that is linked with the name;
• The domain name may have become generally known to the Domain Holder, although the Domain Holder has not acquired any sole right to the designation, e.g. as a marketed brand name;
• The domain name may also not be used for a commercial purpose to mislead consumers or to damage a distinctive mark’s or right’s reputation.

What is stated above are only examples.

The Petitioner can choose between two remedies, either transfer or deregistration.

Please note that deregistration of the domain name means that it will be available for registration to the public within approximately 60 days.

The Model Response form is available at https://www.wipo.int/amc/en/docs/response-se.pdf.

Examples of such rights are;

The Domain Holder should indicate whether it agrees to the remedy requested; the Domain Holder should respond to the Petitioner’s claims regarding the three elements, including;

• right with a legal basis in Sweden,
• bad faith, and
• legitimate interest.

The case will be decided regardless of whether the Domain Holder has submitted a response or not. (See sections 13 and 14 of the .SE Procedural Rules)

There are no provisions in the .SE Procedural Rules that allow for an extension of the response period. After the 30-day response period, WIPO appoints an Arbitrator whether or not a Response has been filed.

The Domain Holder can always contact WIPO and explain why an extension of the response period is justified.

The Arbitrators are neutral legal experts appointed by WIPO to resolve ADR cases and are independent from WIPO, The Swedish Internet Foundation, and the Registrars.

The list of Arbitrators is available at https://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/panel/panelists.jsp?code=seDRP.

In each case the invited Arbitrator must conduct an impartiality assessment and submit a signed Declaration of Impartiality and Independence.

The Petitioner can select either one or three Arbitrators.

If the Petitioner selects one Arbitrator WIPO will appoint the Arbitrator from its list of Arbitrators.

If the Petitioner selects three Arbitrators, the Petitioner is required to include its selection of Arbitrator in its Petition. It should be noted that an accelerated proceeding is not possible with three Arbitrators. (See section 11 of the .SE Procedural Rules)

The Domain Holder can request that the case be decided by three Arbitrators, even though the Petitioner has selected only one Arbitrator. In such cases, the Parties are given the opportunity to select one Arbitrator each from WIPO’s list of Arbitrators, and WIPO will appoint the third presiding Arbitrator.

The Parties are not allowed to contact the Arbitrators. All communication between the Parties and the Arbitrator shall occur through WIPO. (See section 17 of the .SE Procedural Rules)

The Parties can come to an agreement about the case before an Arbitrator is appointed. This can be done in three different ways;

• the Domain Holder submits a signed and completed Response consenting to the claim, or
• the Parties sign and complete WIPO Standard Settlement Form, or
• the Domain Holder consents to the Petitioner’s claim in an email communication.

Once the Parties have come to an agreement, WIPO will instruct The Swedish Internet Foundation to implement the Parties’ settlement.

The Petitioner can withdraw its Petition at any moment before notification of the Petition to the Domain Holder.

If the Petitioner wants to withdraw its Petition after the Domain Holder has been notified of the Petition, but before an Arbitrator has been appointed, WIPO must give the Domain Holder an opportunity to comment on the Petitioner's request to withdraw. (See section 16 of the .SE Procedural Rules)

Once the Arbitrator has been appointed, such request will be forwarded to the Arbitrator who will decide whether the Domain Holder's consent is required to terminate the case. (See section 18 of the .SE Procedural Rules)

The ADR proceeding shall continue unless the Parties agree otherwise. (See section 28 of the .SE Procedural Rules)

A single Petition concerning several domain names may be submitted provided that the Domain Holder is the same for all domain names and if they are supported by the same rights which are legally recognized in Sweden.

Petitions between the same parties may be handled in one proceeding, if it benefits the proceeding. The Petitioner should include arguments justifying why a joint procedure would be beneficial. The Arbitrator will decide whether consolidation is accepted or not. (See section 7a of the .SE Procedural Rules)

The decisions are public and published.

They can be found on

• The Swedish Internet Foundation's website at https://internetstiftelsen.se/en/domains/dispute-resolution/dispute-resolution-for-se/ongoing-matters-and-adr-decisions/, and
• WIPO’s website at https://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisionsx/index-cctld.html.

See section 25 of the .se Procedural Rules.

WIPO notifies the Parties and The Swedish Internet Foundation of the decision, and the decision is subsequently implemented by The Swedish Internet Foundation.

The transfer or deregistration takes place 14 days from the day The Swedish Internet Foundation receives the decision. During this period the Domain Holder has the option to file a legal action claiming a greater right to the domain name in a general court in Sweden.

If the Petitioner does not follow The Swedish Internet Foundation’s instructions within 30 days of written notice, The Swedish Internet Foundation has the right to deactivate and/or deregister the domain name. (See paragraph 7.3 of the .SE Policy)

The .SE Procedural Rules do not provide for an appeal procedure, but the Parties have the option to file a legal action before a general court.

If a Party submits a new Petition concerning the same domain name a new assessment of the circumstances would be made in each new individual case.

The Petitioner must justify the refiled petition. WIPO would assess whether the pleaded grounds prima facie justify accepting the refiled petition, but the final determination would remain with the Arbitrator.