Cybersquatting dispute resolution for .UK to be debated

Top level domains are divided into the seven existing generic domains, or gTLDs, such as .com, .net and .org, and the numerous ccTLDs such as .uk, .fr and .de. In cases of .com, .net or .org cybersquatting, anyone wanting the transfer of a domain name from a cybersquatter can argue his or her case before WIPO or one of three other bodies authorised to hear disputes under rules known as the UDRP (Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy), a form of alternative dispute resolution.

With only a few exceptions, these four bodies cannot hear cases for ccTLDs. The administrators of ccTLDs for 17 countries have subsequently adopted the UDRP to assist with their domestic cybersquatting disputes. However, the UK is not among them.

The administrator of the .uk domain is Nominet. It offers its own alternative dispute resolution procedure, but this has proved a less popular forum for cybersquatting cases than the UK courts.

The problems with courts are expense, delay and the fact that the UK, like most other national courts, does not have specific laws to deal with cybersquatting. Instead, these courts usually rely on the remedies of passing off and trade mark infringement. An advantage of the courts over the UDRP and Nominet systems is that only the courts offer scope for damages claims.

The UDRP offers a simple, cheap and quick remedy to cybersquatting disputes and today the conference will consider its possible application to ccTLD disputes. Nominet argues that it fails to take into account regional differences and that it only caters for a narrow range of disputes.

The Conference will also mark the beginning of a two month period for public comment on WIPO's Best Practices for Prevention and Resolution of Intellectual Property Disputes in ccTLDs - a set of voluntary intellectual property guidelines designed to assist ccTLD administrators such as Nominet in the UK.

The conference will also hear from a representative of the European Commission on the status of the forthcoming .eu top level domain. The .eu domain has been approved in principle by ICANN, the body with authority for the internet’s domain naming system. It is for the Commission to revert to ICANN with detailed proposals for the domain’s operation and administration.