Digital Branding Blog

Nominet, the registry for .UK, has proposed a change in the way name disputes are handled. Under Nominet's plan, the dispute resolution process would be streamlined so that unopposed disputes are automatically resolved in favor of the party claiming the rights to a domain name. While the plan aims to help brand holders with the growing problem of cybersquatters and domainers, the proposal is being met with criticism by some who say that it does not go far enough in dealing with the problems they cause for legitimate businesses.

Posted by Tempy Wright at 11:28 AM | Permalink

Well-known brands such as Dell Inc., Yahoo Inc. and Marriott International Inc. are among companies that have joined a new coalition lobbying Congress for tougher laws targeting people who seek to profit from their brand names and use them to commit online fraud. The Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse has hired law firm Alston and Bird LLP to persuade federal lawmakers of the need to crack down against those who claim Web addresses, or domain names, that include -- or even resemble -- a legitimate company's trademark.

Posted by Tempy Wright at 4:25 PM | Permalink

The June INTA Bulletin reports that South Africa has launched a new domain name dispute resolution procedure to provide a cost-efficient, fast and practical solution to .CO.ZA disputes.

Two entities have been accredited to administer the new dispute resolution procedure: the South African Institute of Intellectual Property Law (SAIIPL) and the Arbitration Foundation of South Africa (AFSA). Complaints regarding a CO.ZA domain name can be filed with either of these organizations. The new .CO.ZA regulations are similar to those WIPO follows in administering the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP).

Previously, trademark owners in South Africa were obliged to institute trademark infringement proceedings if they discovered a third party had registered a .CO.ZA domain name that incorporated a registered trademark. Since .CO.ZA is not regulated by ICANN's UDRP, complaints cannot be filed through WIPO as they can for other domain names.

Posted by Tempy Wright at 9:23 AM | Permalink