E SCT/39/7 ORIGINAL: ENGLISH DATE: MARCH 12, 2018 Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications Thirty-Ninth Session Geneva, April 23 to 26, 2018 SURVEY OF THE EXISTING STATE OF PLAY OF GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS, COUNTRY NAMES, AND OTHER GEOGRAPHICAL TERMS IN THE DOMAIN NAME SYSTEM (DNS) INTRODUCTION 1. At the thirty-eighth session of the Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT), held from October 30 to November 2, 2017, the SCT adopted its Workplan on Geographical Indications, as reflected in the Summary by the Chair of the SCT (see the Annex to document SCT/38/5). 2. In accordance with the Workplan on Geographical Indications, the Chair of the SCT requested the Secretariat “to describe the existing state of play of geographical indications, country names, and other geographical terms in the Domain Name System (DNS), with a view to further discussions on the matter by the SCT”. 3. Accordingly, the Secretariat prepared the present Survey document and the accompanying Annex. The document consists of two parts. The first part of the document surveys the existing state of play of geographical indications, country names, and other geographical terms in generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs), while the second part does so for country code Top Level Domains (ccTLDs). The Annex contains more specific information on ccTLD registration terms and dispute resolution policies with respect to the surveyed identifiers. For easy reading and reference, a Table of Contents is included. SCT/39/7 page 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS: GENERIC TOP LEVEL DOMAINS ............................................................................................ 4 GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS ........................................................................................... 4 I. In “existing” gTLDs ....................................................................................................... 4 (a) At the Top Level ........................................................................................................ 4 (i) Registration conditions ......................................................................................... 4 (ii) Dispute resolution options ..................................................................................... 5 (b) At the second Level................................................................................................... 5 (i) Registration conditions ......................................................................................... 5 (ii) Dispute resolution options ..................................................................................... 6 II. In “new gTLDs” ............................................................................................................ 6 (a) At the Top Level ........................................................................................................ 6 (i) Registration conditions ......................................................................................... 6 (ii) Dispute resolution options ..................................................................................... 7 (b) At the second Level................................................................................................... 7 (i) Registration conditions ......................................................................................... 7 (ii) Dispute resolution options ..................................................................................... 7 COUNTRY NAMES ................................................................................................................ 8 I. In “existing” gTLDs ....................................................................................................... 8 (a) At the Top Level ........................................................................................................ 8 (i) Registration conditions ......................................................................................... 8 (ii) Dispute resolution options ..................................................................................... 8 (b) At the second Level ..................................................................................................... 8 (i) Registration conditions ......................................................................................... 8 (ii) Dispute resolution options ..................................................................................... 9 II. In “new gTLDs” ............................................................................................................ 9 (a) At the Top Level ...................................................................................................... 10 (i) Registration conditions ....................................................................................... 10 (ii) Dispute resolution options ................................................................................... 11 (b) At the second Level................................................................................................. 11 (i) Registration conditions ....................................................................................... 11 (ii) Dispute resolution options ................................................................................... 11 OTHER GEOGRAPHICAL TERMS ...................................................................................... 12 I. In “existing” gTLDs ..................................................................................................... 12 (a) At the Top Level ...................................................................................................... 12 (i) Registration conditions ....................................................................................... 12 (ii) Dispute resolution options ................................................................................... 12 (b) At the second Level................................................................................................. 12 (i) Registration conditions ....................................................................................... 12 (ii) Dispute resolution options ................................................................................... 13 II. In “new gTLDs” .......................................................................................................... 13 (a) At the Top Level ...................................................................................................... 13 (i) Registration conditions ....................................................................................... 13 (ii) Dispute resolution options ................................................................................... 14 (b) At the second Level................................................................................................. 15 (i) Registration conditions ....................................................................................... 15 (ii) Dispute resolution options ................................................................................... 15 SCT/39/7 page 3 COUNTRY CODE TOP LEVEL DOMAINS .............................................................................. 15 METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................. 15 GENERAL FINDINGS ........................................................................................................... 16 GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS ......................................................................................... 17 I. At the Top Level ......................................................................................................... 17 II. At the second Level ................................................................................................... 17 (a) Registration Conditions ....................................................................................... 17 (b) Dispute Resolution Options ................................................................................ 17 COUNTRY NAMES .............................................................................................................. 18 I. At the Top Level ......................................................................................................... 18 (a) Registration Conditions ....................................................................................... 18 (b) Dispute Resolution Options ................................................................................ 18 II. At the second Level ................................................................................................... 18 (a) Registration Conditions ....................................................................................... 18 (b) Dispute Resolution Options ................................................................................ 19 OTHER GEOGRAPHICAL TERMS ...................................................................................... 19 I. At the Top Level ......................................................................................................... 19 (a) Registration Conditions ....................................................................................... 19 (b) Dispute Resolution Options ................................................................................ 19 II. At