Afilias looks into fraudulent .info domain name claims

Earlier this week, Afilias published a list of claims that had already been made to the registry. However, several of the claims appear to be based on trade mark rights that do not exist. The claim procedure requires trade mark owners to provide a date the mark registration was issued, the country where the mark was issued and the registration number.

However, it appears that nobody checks the legitimacy of trade mark claims at this stage. Instead, after the Sunrise Period expires later this month, there is a period during which applications for names can be challenged under rules very similar to those used for cybersquatting arbitration. Some people seem to be submitting applications for names based on generic words, such as business.info or sex.info, where there is unlikely to be a trade mark.

By claiming that they have a trade mark, perhaps by concocting a registration number, in the absence of checks or a successful challenge, the applicants hope they will win ownership of potentially valuable .info names before 12th September when the application procedure opens to the public on a first-come, first-served basis.

Where more than one application for the same name is made during the Sunrise Period, a system of random selection awards the name to one applicant. Unsuccessful applicants can then consider whether to bring legal action during a 120-day challenge period. Challenges costs the challenger the sum of $295.

According to Newsbytes, Afilias is determining the extent of fraudulent applications in the Sunrise Period to establish whether further action is necessary to ensure .info domains are fairly administered. However, ICANN will likely be the body to face most criticism for perceived failings in the .info and .biz allocation procedures, since it authorised the terms on which the registries for each domain operate.