The Internet Commerce Association (ICA) will be hosting its third annual Levine Lecture on July 28th at 12pm EDT. This year, the online webinar event will feature experienced UDRP panelist Nick Gardner, who will be introduced by fellow UDRP panelist Tony Willoughby. According to UDRP.Tools, Mr. Gardner has been a panelist in nearly 600 UDRP cases.

Gardner’s presentation is entitled, “26 Years of Deciding UDRP Cases: What Does a Panelist Actually Do, and Why? How Will AI Change This?” The lecture should give attendees a look at how a UDRP panelist approaches domain name disputes and reaches a decision. I am interested in hearing about how Mr. Gardner believes AI will impact the UDRP, particularly as it relates to filings and responses that utilize AI.

Domain investors typically only see the final UDRP decision after it’s been published. This webinar will hopefully provide a behind-the-scenes look at the panelist’s role in coming to a decision. I am particularly interested in getting an understanding about how a panelist evaluates arguments and evidence to reach a decision. I’d also be interested in hearing a bit about considerations a panelist might make when a valuable descriptive domain name goes undefended in a UDRP.

The Levine Lecture series was created by the ICA in honor of the work that has been done by attorney and UDRP panelist Gerald Levine, who literally wrote the book about the UDRP – Domain Name Arbitration. He also authored The Clash of Trademarks and Domain Names on the Internet. Mr. Levine will be giving closing remarks following the presentation.

This is a free event and open to all who would like to attend, including people who are not members of the ICA. You’ll need to register via Zoho to receive the webinar link in advance of the lecture.

You can watch the first two Levine Lectures are here: Tony Willoughby (2024) and David H. Bernstein (2025).