Blog posts: domain name law

Domain name disputes: expert tips
Submitted by Alasdair Taylor on Thu, 22/03/2012 - 11:47

Domain name arbitrations are cheap when compared with court proceedings. They're even cheaper if you prepare the legal documentation yourself. This post provides a selection of practical tips for those preparing to fight a domain name arbitration case. It covers matters such as the assessment of your chances, the use of preliminary letters, the preparation of the formal complaint documents, and much more.
Legal area:
litigation
domain name law
Domain name disputes glossary
Submitted by Alasdair Taylor on Fri, 10/02/2012 - 15:52

From "abusive registration" to "passing off" to "typosquatting", the jargon of domain name disputes and dispute resolution can be impenetrable to the outsider. Worse, the literature is full of obscurantist acronyms like ACPA, DRS, IND, NAF, TLD and UDRP. This glossary will help you untangle the mess.
Legal area:
domain name law
Introduction to .uk domain disputes
Submitted by Alasdair Taylor on Mon, 30/01/2012 - 16:17

The .uk registry is the world's fourth largest (after the .com, .net and .de registries). It is administered by Nominet, a not-for-profit company based in Oxford, England. Nominet acts not just as the .uk registry, but also as the .uk dispute resolution service provider. Nominet does not use the UDRP for dispute resolution, but has instead created a distinctive system inspired by the UDRP. The substantive rules governing .uk disputes are set out in Nominet's dispute resolution policy document and its dispute resolution procedure document.
Legal area:
domain name law
Introduction to .eu domain disputes
Submitted by Alasdair Taylor on Wed, 18/01/2012 - 17:18

The creation of the .eu domain was endorsed by the European Parliament back in March 2000, but took 5 more years to become a reality. The motive for introducing a European TLD was to "accelerate electronic commerce" in the EU; it was also part of the effort to promote Community-consciousness, both within the EU and without. The domain has certainly been a success, quickly becoming one of the world's most popular TLDs; but with that success has come conflict.
Legal area:
domain name law
Introduction to UDRP domain disputes
Submitted by Alasdair Taylor on Sun, 08/01/2012 - 17:42

The Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy is the grandfather of domain name dispute policies, having been approved by ICANN back in October 1999. It governs arbitration proceedings involving the most important gTLDs, including disputes about .com, .net, .org, .biz and .info domains. In addition, some ccTLDs registries have voluntarily adopted the UDRP.
Legal area:
domain name law
Nominet's DRS Procedure: a brief guide
Submitted by Alasdair Taylor on Fri, 11/09/2009 - 05:05

Nominet is the organisation responsible for the administration of the .uk top level domain, including the procedure used for the resolution of certain classes of domain name dispute. There are two basic documents governing Nominet's Dispute Resolution Service (DRS): the Policy and the Procedure. The DRS Policy sets out the substantive grounds upon which a complaint may be made; whereas the DRS Procedure governs the procedural aspects of the Nominet DRS.
Legal area:
domain name law
Domain name management policies
Submitted by Alasdair Taylor on Fri, 16/05/2008 - 06:21

Documented domain name management policies are exceptional. The rule is ad hoc registration of a range of domain names across a range of extensions, the domains being chosen by different people within an organisation at different times and for different purposes. The result: chaos.
Legal area:
domain name law
Domain name rights
Submitted by Alasdair Taylor on Wed, 16/04/2008 - 08:17

A complainant in domain name arbitration proceedings must establish rights in the trade mark or name used to ground the complaint.
Legal area:
intellectual property law
domain name law
Buying a disputed domain name: price
Submitted by Alasdair Taylor on Fri, 25/01/2008 - 13:10

Many domain name disputes settle by agreement: the domain name registrant agrees to transfer the domain name to the person making the complaint, often in exchange for payment. I am sometimes asked what price should be paid.

Legal area:
domain name law
Domain name transfers after UDRP complaint notification
Submitted by Alasdair Taylor on Wed, 28/11/2007 - 17:31

One of the oddities of ICANN's Rules for Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution is that they require the complainant to affirm, in the complaint, that a copy of the complaint has been sent to the domain name holder (Rule 3(b)(xii)). In theory, this requirement could give a fast-moving domain name holder the chance to transfer the domain to another person before the proceedings formally begin (from which point such “cyberflying” transfers are forbidden under Rule 8(a)).
Legal area:
litigation
domain name law