Domain Name Ownership Law

Business depends on a reconizable domain name as part of a strong Internet presence.

Every online business depends on its Web address, or domain name, for customers to locate the store from the many others available on the Internet. Disputes concerning ownership of specific domain names are becoming more common.

InterNic

IANA, or the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, works directly under the U.S. government and the nonprofit Internet Society, with funding from the National Science Foundation. IANA controls the delegation of numeric Internet protocol addresses. InterNIC, a third party, is designated as the organization in charge of issuing and overseeing domain name policies.

First Come, First Served

Registration is handled by designated registrars, who do not investigate any company´s entitlement to a specific domain name. With the rise of domain name squatting, policies have been put in place to prevent investors from purchasing high profile names with the intention of reselling the domain at an inflated cost to a trademarked corporation.

Trademark Holders

Second parties holding a trademark to a certain name may claim to a greater right to the Internet domain name. The party must contact both the domain owner, as well as InterNIC, with a copy of the trademark certificate. InterNIC resolves the dispute, sometimes forcing the domain holder to forfeit the name to the trademark holder.

Registrar Agreements

Though laws do exist to protect the rights of domain name holders, most disputes are resolved simply by referring to the contract between the registrar and the site owner. By carefully reviewing the clauses and fine print, a domainer assures his rights aren't waived during the registration process.

References

• ICANN: Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
• Richard J. Greenstone: Internet Domain Name Law: Trademark Registration
• University of Edinburgh School of Law: Domain names and Trade marks: What's in a name?
• Keyt Law: Domain Name Law