Domain Names

Ferenc Suba LLM, MAChairman of the Board,

CERT-Hungary, Theodore Puskás FoundationVice-Chair of the Management Board,

European Network and Information Security Agency

OverviewWhat is a domain name?

Technical Legal Structure of the DNS TLD

ICANN

UDRP

WIPO

National Dispute Resolution

.eu

What is a domain name?

Technically Like a phone-number Unique addresses IP address

32-bit numbers often expressed as 4 octets in dotted decimal notation

Alphanumerical string 192.0.34.163 = icann.org

Legally

Not trademarks

Not ownership User right for a limited period

No laws Self-regulation Request for Comments (RFC) 1591

http://rfc-1591.rfc-index.com

DNS structure?

DNS = Domain Name System

2 (or more) levels: Top Level Domain (TLD) Second Level Domain (SLD)

TLD – Top Level Domains Generic TLD (gTLD)

.com, .edu, .gov, .int, .mil, .net, .org .biz, .info, .name, .pro, .aero, .coop,

and .museum

Country Code TLD (ccTLD) ISO 3166 .ee, .lv, .lt, .pl, .hu, .cz, .sk, .ro, .bg, .si

Hierachy

1. ICANN

2. Registry

3. Registrar

4. Registrant

ICANN

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers

MoU with US Department of Commerce

Coordinating body

IP address space, DNS service management (incl. DNS servers)

Technical focus

RIPE (Réseaux IP Européens)

Registry operators

Registry, NIC, hostmaster, TLD managerDelegates SLDs (2nd level: .co.uk) Technical responsibilityAdministrative responsibilityDuty to serve the community

National Global internet community

Delegation procedures

First filed - first served

Established rights local presence, trademark etc.

Disputes

Cybersquatting (Mr. Smith registers cocacola.com)

Typosquatting (misrosoft, gogle)

Competing use (casino-monaco.com)

Noncompeting use (two George Clooneys)

Reverse domain name hijacking (using weak or nonexistent trademarks to get a registered domain name)

Parody and commentary

UDRP

Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy

Approved by ICANN October 24, 1999 Trademark-based domain-name disputes .com, .org, .net, .biz, .info, .name Cancellation or transfer Fast, effective and biased (see appeal

procedure!)

Abusive registration and use identical or misleadingly similar to a trademark

no rights or legitimate interests

bad faith

All 3 must be proven! (see D1318)

Legitimate interest Use or preparations to use

Commonly known by that name

Legitimate, noncommercial or fair use

By way of prima facie proofs!! (see D1318)

Approved providers

Asian Domain Name Dispute Resolution Centre (ADNRC)

CPR Institute for Dispute Resolution (CPR)

The National Arbitration Forum (NAF)

World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

WIPO - procedure

Example: casino-monaco.com (Grand Duchy of Monte Carlo vs. Cybinter Ltd. from Hungary, D 1318 before WIPO)

Complainant submits complaint online and off line:

1 signed original + 4 copies to WIPO 1 copy to Respondent 1 copy to Registrar

Complainant pays fee to WIPO

WIPO - procedure

Defendant submits response online (20 days)

and off line: 1 signed original + 4 copies to WIPO 1 copy to Complainant 1 copy to Registrar

WIPO - procedure

Panelist appointed within 5 days Decision within 14 days Communication to parties within 3 days Implementation within 10 days Language of registration agreement

Disputes - ccTLDs

Arbitration like UDRP (Union of Domain Name Resolution

Policy)

Court proceedings national legislation

.euEC Regulation No 733/2002 on the implementation of the .eu Top Level Domain

EC Regulation No 874/2004 on registration

EC Regulation No 1255/2007 amending 874/2004

Registry appointed

EURid DNS-BE (Belgium) IIT CNR (Italy) NIC SE (Sweden)

Who is able to register for how much?

i. undertakings having their registered office, central administration or principal place of business within the European Community

ii. organisations established within the European Community without prejudice to the application of national law

iii. natural persons resident within the European Community

iv. Price: 4 euros per domain name + profit of the registrar

i.

Dispute resolution .eu

Arbitration Court in Prague (Economic and Agricultural Chamber)

Adr.eu Procedure: rules similar to UDRP and WIPO

www.arbcourt.cz/adreu

ssam

Thank you for your attention!

ferenc.suba@cert-hungary.hu

PTA CERT-Hungarywww.cert-hungary.hu

Theodore Puskás Foundation www.neti.hu

ENISAwww.enisa.europa.eu

Questions

What is a gTLD and ccTLD?

What does UDRP stand for?

What is reverse domain name hijacking?

Where can a legal dispute about an .eu domain name be resolved?