DOMAIN NAME SURVEILLANCE

whose coexistence was possible before because it was limited in territorial terms and related to different geographical zones.

In the case of conflicts relating to domain names, the most widely adopted remedy continues to be offered by Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)—alternative procedures for bringing action before the ordinary courts. ADR is based on the simultaneous existence of prerequisites simpler than the principles that govern the rules on distinguishing signs.

Te oldest, most widely used and reliable of the various ADR procedures is the one used by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and, in particular, its Arbitration and Mediation Center. Initially, this procedure could only be used for domain names registered with generic extensions (gTLDs), such as .org, .net and .com. Nowadays, it is usable not only for those generic extensions introduced over the years, such as .biz, .info, .aero, .asia, .cat, .coop and .jobs, but also for many domain names registered on international circuits (ccTLDs). Te table below shows domain names with ccTLDs for which it is possible to contact WIPO and request the relevant procedure.

List of ccTLDs

A

.AC (Ascension Island)

.AE (United Arab Emirates)

.AG (Antigua and Barbuda)

.AM (Armenia) .AO (Angola)

.AS (American Samoa) .AU (Australia) C

.CC (Cocos Islands)

.CD (Democratic Republic of the Congo)

.CH (Switzerland) .CO (Colombia) .CR (Costa Rica) .CY (Cyprus) E

.EC (Ecuador) .ES (Spain) G

.GT (Guatemala) I

.IE (Ireland)

.IO (British Indian Ocean Territory)

.IR (Islamic Republic of Iran)

On the basis of the WIPO model and for those ‘national’ domain names not included in the list, and for which it is therefore not possible to contact the Arbitration and Mediation Center directly, numerous national registration authorities, including the Italian authority, have adopted similar procedures that offer the advantage of rapidity, simplicity and limited costs.

It is important to note that the only possible subject of all these alternative procedures is a request by the applicant for transfer to it of the disputed domain name or, alternatively, a request for cancellation: the possibility of requesting any other provision or measure (such as a request to prohibit use or a check on aspects of illegality in the contents of the site linked to the disputed domain name) is excluded, including damages claims.

In 2009, 2,107 procedures were brought before WIPO; since 1999 (the year when the ADR was introduced), decisions have been reached in more than 17,000 cases.

By way of conclusion, it is worth looking briefly at what could be defined as a ‘preventative policy’ adopted by certain companies to identify the registration

L B .BM (Bermuda)

.BO (Bolivia (Plurinational State of))

.BS (Bahamas) .BZ (Belize) N .NA (Namibia) D .DJ (Djibouti)

.DO (Dominican Republic)

.NL (Netherlands) .NR (Nauru) .NU (Niue)

.LA (Lao People's Democratic Republic)

.LC (Saint Lucia) .LI (Liechtenstein) M .MA (Morocco)

.MD (Republic of Moldova)

.ME (Montenegro)

.MP (Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands)

.MW (Malawi) .MX (Mexico) P

.PA (Panama) .PE (Peru)

.PH (Philippines) R F .FJ (Fiji)

.FR (France) H

.HN (Honduras) K

.KI (Kiribati) .KY (Cayman Islands)

.RE (Reunion Island) .RO (Romania)

T .TK (Tokelau)

.TM (Turkmenistan) .TT (Trinidad and Tobago) .TV (Tuvalu) V

.VE (Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of))

40 World Intellectual Property Review May/June 2010

www.worldipreview.com

.PK (Pakistan) .PL (Poland) .PN (Pitcairn Island) .PR (Puerto Rico) S

.SC (Seychelles)

.SH (St. Helena) .SL (Sierra Leone) U

.UG (Uganda)

Alessandra Ferreri, attorney at law and Supreme Court lawyer, has been with Rapisardi IP since 2000. Specialised in domain name issues and in the protection of IP on the Internet; she has dealt with several cases of cybersquatting and has assisted clients in litigation and arbitration in Italy and abroad for Internet-related matters. As a panelist for the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center and for the Arbitrator’s Chamber of Milan, she has written several decisions according to the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy and other arbitration procedures. She has extensive experience in IP law, particularly in court litigation and extra-judicial procedures for patents, designs and trademarks.

W .WS (Samoa)

of domain names by unauthorised third parties: registrations that constitute rights infringements.

Tis policy is carried out by activating a surveillance service on domain names registered at supra-national and national level. Tis control is normally performed on a quarterly basis among domain names that are identical or similar to the trademark on which the inquiry is being conducted. Tis gives an outline of new registrations of domain names that could possibly interfere with the company’s own trademark or other distinguishing signs, such as trade names, common law trademarks, company names and other domain names.

Once the illegal registration is identified, before starting any judicial proceedings or arbitration, it is advisable to contact the possessor of the disputed domain name, in order to check whether there is the possibility of making an amicable transfer to the owner of the homonymous rights.

Alessandra Ferreri is an attorney at law with Rapisardi Intellectual Property. She can be contacted at: a.ferreri@rapisardi.com Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80