Ladas & Parry - Domain Names & E-Commerce

Domain Names & E-Commerce / Domain Names

Domain Names

By Dr. Ian Jay Kaufman [*]

Introduction
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)
Current Dispute Resolution Methods
Country Code Top-Level Domains
Confusion Caused by the New Domains
Third Level Domains
A Domain Name System Solution

Introduction

Issues concerning how to resolve conflicts between domain names and trademarks have been some of the most visible in recent times. [2] What began as a .COM world, however, has now evolved into a myriad of suffixes--ranging from top-level domain names (“TLDs”), both "restricted" to limited uses, e.g., .BIZ for business purposes, and "generic" or "open" to anyone for any purpose, e.g., .COM or .INFO.; and country code top-level domain names (“ccTLDs”) corresponding to actual countries, some with local presence requirements, others without. Users searching for a particular location on the Internet will soon, if they have not already, experience difficulty finding what it is they are looking for.

With the recent introduction of new top-level domain names, such as .BIZ , .INFO and .NAME, the problem of "cybersquatting," whereby one with no legitimate interest in a trademark registers the mark as a domain name to later sell it to the trademark owner for a profit, will only become more pervasive, despite the fact that many of these new domains are "restricted" domains, and despite the fact that protective mechanisms were put in place to prevent an initial “gold rush” of cybersquatters attempting to claim new turf.

One positive step towards harmonization in the Domain Name System (“DNS”), however, is the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (“ICANN”), a not-for-profit entity established by the United States government to remove the DNS from U.S. Governmental control for the benefit of all nations, and to take over many of the management functions of the DNS.

[*] Ian Jay Kaufman, a resident partner in the New York office of the multinational law firm Ladas & Parry, has written extensively on Intellectual Property issues. The author acknowledges the assistance of Michael D. Stewart, Esq. and Joseph G. Walsh, Esq., associates in Ladas & Parry’s New York office, in the writing of this paper, which was first presented by Dr. Kaufman at conferences held in New Delhi & Hyderabad, India in January 2002. Copyright Ian Jay Kaufman 2001. All Rights Reserved

[2] The author has written previously on the subject of domain names. See, e.g., Kaufman, “Domain Names and the New Internet Governance,” The Journal of World Intellectual Property, Vol. 3, No. 5, September 2000; Kaufman, “New Internet Governance—Trademarks v. Domain Names,” Global Counsel, Intellectual Property Handbook 2000; Kaufman, “The Domain Name System—Dispute Resolution and the Nice Classification System,” International Business Lawyer,” January 2000; Kaufman, “ICANN, WIPO Address Domain Names,” NYLJ, January 18, 2000; Kaufman, “Resolution of Domain Name Disputes in the Context of the New Internet Governance,” Trademark World, October 1999; Kaufman, “The Domain Name System—Act Now or Regret Later,” Trademark World, September 1999.

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