Domain Name Disputes in Charitable and Not-for-profit Sector

.shut-out for Legal Rights Objections in New gTLD Registrations

As of July 25th, WIPO has rejected all of the first 14 Legal Rights Objections (LRO) filed in response to applications for the registration of new generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs). While there are still over 50 Objections yet to be decided, the rejection of all the objections so far have some commentators beginning to question the effectiveness of the process.

ICANN See Some Problems: New Domains and Freedom of XXXpression

Turns out the internet isn’t all about porn. Just kidding, it mostly is. But underneath the debate sparked by the .XXX domain question at last week’s international website regulatory conference are a series of fundamental issues about internet freedom of expression, the process for determining what new URLs will be on offer, the tension between […]

When Porn Tycoons Meet Internet Sultans: the Triple-X Saga

Luca Belli is a PhD candidate at Panthéon-Assas University (PRES Sorbonne Universités), Paris, and a member of the Steering Committee at MediaLaws, www.medialaws.eu. The re-posting of this analysis is part of a cross-posting collaboration with MediaLaws: Law and Policy of the Media in a Comparative Perspective. In 2000, the young Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) decided to […]

DomainRush.xxx

Kalen Lumsden is a JD candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School. In response to the creation of a new, adult entertainment-centric domain - .XXX - many universities and trademark holders are buying up potentially pornographic versions of their web properties before they fall into irresponsible or malicious hands.

Domain Tasting: Clever & Strategic Business Practice or Sneaky Underhanded Manoeuvre?

"Domain tasting" refers to the practice of registering a domain name and taking advantage of the 5-day Add Grace Period (AGP), which is activated upon registration, for the purpose of assessing the profitability of said domain. The full price of the domain remains completely refundable until the AGP expires, at which point the registrant becomes […]

Trademark v. Free Speech

Does free speech overrule a trademark owner's interest in a domain name? According to Sutherland Institute v. Continuative LLC, a recent case by a WIPO domain dispute arbitration panel, the answer could be yes. Maybe. The case is interesting for two reasons: its discussion of free speech protection and domain names, and the deference of […]

Trademark Holders vs. Web-Domain Owners: How Much Protection is Enough?

Balancing the rights of trademark holders and registered web-domain owners is a complicated process. Understandably, trademark holders wish to protect their intellectual property rights and prevent cyber-squatters from acquiring valuable domain names for an illegitimate purpose. Conversely, domain owners argue that corporations should not be granted the automatic right to acquire any domain that can […]

ICANN and Internet Big Bang

The announcement by ICANN to open the Internet to a limitless number of domains has been a cause of stir since June 2008 when Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) accepted this recommendation of its global stakeholders.  ICANN's website describes itself as a not-for-profit public-benefit corporation aimed at coordinating and maintaining the integrity […]

CIRA Panel issues its first clear finding of “reverse domain name hijacking”

The April 15, 2009 decision by a CIRA (Canadian Internet Registration Authority) domain name dispute resolution Panel (the Panel) marks the first clear finding of "reverse domain name hijacking." This phrase refers to the practice of acquiring domain names from owners by accusing them of violating trade-marks with the domain name and demanding that the […]