Issue 152 - 15th April

Rules for registering .fr domains are soon to be relaxed

Currently it is only possible to register a .fr domain name that exactly matches a registered trademark or company name. However from May 11, 2004 this will no longer be the case. This means many .fr domain names which were previously not possible to register, will now become available on a first-come first-served basis.

In order to successfully register .fr names, registrants of .fr domains will need to be identifiable online within official and national French public databases (databases containing companies, businesses, associations such as those listed in the INSEE directory or the directory of trade mark owners will be used for this purpose).

.md domain name being relaunched

MaxMD, the registry operator for the Moldovia (.md) domain, recently announced that it will begin marketing .md domain names to the global health care community.

A Sunrise period is open until April 30th 2004 for trademark holders who want to register .md domains that exactly match their registered trademarks. If this applies to you, please contact your account manager or email here with details of the trademark.

The registry will open up to the public on a first-come first-served basis from May 1, 2004.

Comreg to take over control of .ie registry

Ireland's Communications Minister Dermot Ahern this week announced that regulation and control of the .ie domain name registry (IEDR) is to be transferred to the Commission for Communications Regulation (Comreg).

Officials at the Minister's Department are currently drafting legislation to provide for the transfer to Comreg, which is expected to go before the cabinet shortly.

auDA wins action against Domain Name Australia (DNA)

The operators of the Australian (.au) domain name registry, auDA have won a claim against Domain Names Australia and its owner Chesley Rafferty, filed under the Trade Practices Act.

The claim was launched as a representative or class action on behalf of all those who had existing .au domain names and who received notices from Domain Names Australia and made payments as a result.

On April 8, 2004 Justice Finkelstein found that the notices sent by DNA in July and September 2003 were, as alleged by auDA, misleading and deceptive.

NetNames would like to remind all domain name owners to be cautious of scams such as this one and wherever possible, to only deal with an ICANN Accredited Registrar. Common tactics employed by unscrupulous operators include the sending of transfer notices designed to look like renewal notices and phone calls claiming that someone else is attempting to register a domain name containing your brand or company name.