THE MANAGEMENT OF INTERNET NAMES AND ADDRESSES: INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ISSUES Final Report of the WIPO Internet Domain Name Process http://wipo2.wipo.int April 30, 1999 The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is an organization founded through a treaty by States, which has 171 States of the World as members. The member States established the Organization as the vehicle for promoting the protection, dissemination and use of intellectual property throughout the world for economic, cultural and social development. The Organization provides services both to its Member States and to the individuals and enterprises that are constituent of those States. The services provided by WIPO to its member States include the provision of a forum for the development and implementation of intellectual property policies internationally through treaties and other policy instruments. The services provided to the private sector by WIPO include the administration of systems that make it possible to obtain protection for patents, trademarks, industrial designs and geographical indications in multiple countries through a single international procedure. The operations of WIPO are financed as to 88 per cent by fees generated by the Organization for the services it renders to the private sector, and as to the remaining 12 per cent by contributions made by the Member States. World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) 34, chemin des Colombettes P.O. Box 18 1211 Geneva 20 Switzerland * * * * For information concerning the WIPO Internet Domain Name Process: Office of Legal and Organization Affairs Telephone: (41 22) 338 91 64 Fax: (41 22) 733 31 68 Internet: http://wipo2.wipo.int e-mail: [email protected] SUMMARY OF CONTENTS Executive Summary Paragraph Numbers 1. The Internet, Domain Names and the WIPO Process ...................................... 1 to 44 The Internet....................................................................................................................... 1 to 3 The Domain Name System ....................................................................................... 4 to 9 The Transmutation of Domain Names ................................................................ 10 Intellectual Property..................................................................................................... 11 to 13 The Process for the Reorganization of the Management of the Domain Name System ........................................................................................... 14 to 21 The Interface Between the Domain Name System and Intellectual Property: The WIPO Process ............................................................................ 22 to 25 The Mechanics of the WIPO Process .................................................................. 26 to 31 Stages .............................................................................................. 26 to 29 Modalities........................................................................................ 30 Panel of Experts .............................................................................. 31 Guiding Principles in the Formulation of Recommendations in the WIPO Process ............................................................................................ 32 to 37 The Scope of the WIPO Recommendations: Their Relevance to ccTLDs...................................................................................... 38 to 43 The Submission of the WIPO Report................................................. 44 2. Avoiding Disjunction Between Cyberspace and the Rest of the World: Practices Designed to Minimize Conflicts Arising out of Domain Name Registrations .................................................................... 45 to 128 Best Practices for Registration Authorities......................................... 54 to 111 Formal Domain Name Registration Agreement ............................ 54 to 57 Contact Details of Domain Name Holders..................................... 58 to 63 The Collection of Contact Details.................................................. 64 to 66 Scope of Contact Details to be Provided........................................ 67 to 73 The Availability of Contact Details ............................................... 74 to 82 The Possibility of a Non-Commercial Use-Restricted Domain Where Anonymity may be Permitted......................................... 83 to 86 Other Safeguards Against Misuse of Published Contact Details—Proper Notice and Consent........................... 87 to 90 Requirement of Use....................................................................... 91 to 94 Payment of Registration................................................................ 95 to 96 Re-Registration Fees ..................................................................... 97 to 98 Waiting Periods............................................................................. 99 to 102 Searches Prior to Registration....................................................... 103 to 105 Representations in the Domain Name Registration Agreement............................................................................... 106 to 109 Submission to Jurisdiction and to Alternative Dispute Resolution Procedures............................................................ 110 to 111 The Management of Internet Names and Addresses: page (ii) Intellectual Property Issues – Summary of Contents Measures to Deal with Inaccurate and Unreliable Information .......... 112 to 123 Verification of Contact Details by the Registrar............................ 113 to 116 Requirement that Inaccurate and Unreliable Contact Details Constitute a Material Breach of the Domain Name Registration Agreement ............................................................ 117 to 119 Procedure for Cancellation of Registrations where Contact Cannot be Established.............................................................. 120 to 123 The Problem of Uniqueness: Technical Measures for Coexistence of Similar Names............................................................................. 124 to 128 3. Resolving Conflicts in a Multijurisdictional World with a Global Medium: A Uniform Dispute-Resolution Policy.................................... 129 to 244 Court Litigation................................................................................... 137 to 147 Preservation of the Right to Litigate ............................................. 138 to 140 Submission to Jurisdiction ............................................................ 141 to 147 Guiding Principles for the Design of the Administrative Dispute-Resolution Policy ............................................................ 148 to 151 Mandatory Administrative Procedure Concerning Abusive Registrations ................................................................... 152 to 228 Uniform Availability of the Procedure in the Open gTLDs ......... 154 to 157 Mandatory Nature of the Procedure.............................................. 158 to 162 The Scope of the Administrative Procedure ................................. 163 to 169 The Definition of Abusive Registration (“Cybersquatting”) ........ 170 to 177 Implementation of the Procedure.................................................. 178 to 179 Procedural Rules ........................................................................... 180 to 181 Remedies Available Under the Procedure .................................... 182 to 188 Expedited Procedure for Suspension of a Domain Name............. 189 Consolidation of Different Claims................................................ 190 to 193 Relationship with National Courts................................................ 194 to 196 Time Limitation for Bringing Claims ........................................... 197 to 199 Length of Proceedings................................................................... 200 to 203 Appointment of Decision-Maker .................................................. 204 to 209 The Use of On-Line Facilities to Conduct the Procedure............. 210 to 214 Enforcement and Publication of Determinations .......................... 215 to 220 Appeals.......................................................................................... 221 to 222 Costs.............................................................................................. 223 to 227 Dispute-Resolution Service Providers .......................................... 228 The Availability of Voluntary Arbitration .......................................... 229 to 239 The Role of Mediation ........................................................................ 240 to 244 The Management of Internet Names and Addresses: page (iii) Intellectual Property Issues – Summary of Contents 4. The Problem of Notoriety: Famous and Well-Known Marks................. 245 to 303 International Protection of Famous and Well-Known Marks ............. 252 to 256 The Implementation of Protection for Famous and Well-known Marks in Cyberspace................................................... 257 to 262 Mechanism for Exclusion of Famous and Well-known Marks in Open gTLDS............................................... 263 to 287 Brief Description of the Mechanism for Exclusion ........................ 276 Implementation of the Mechanism.................................................. 277 to 278 Procedural Consideration................................................................ 279 to 280 Relationship