Hello N3 Lite Readers,

The NetNames secure .biz application service is now active through www.gtld.com. The service runs until September 17, 2001. Remember that the .info 'Sunrise Period' for trademark holders goes live in two weeks' time.

Colette - N3lite@netnames.com

Negotiation of Proposed .name Registry Agreement Completed

The negotiations between ICANN and the Global Name Registry, the operator for the new .name top-level domain, have been completed. The agreement and its supporting appendices may be viewed by clicking on the links in the yellow area at www.icann.org/tlds. The agreement is undergoing a final, seven-day review by the ICANN Board before being signed. The .name top-level domain is intended for use by individuals.

2. Industry News

.Harrods wins cybersquatting case

In a precedent-setting cybersquatting case, a US District Court Judge has ruled that Harrods can take possession of 60 Harrods-related domain names, despite the fact that the current owner of those addresses has a valid legal claim to the name Harrods.

The Judge ruled that Harrods (Buenos Aires) Ltd., the former operator of an Argentinean department store that no longer carries the Harrods name, acted in bad faith when it registered more than 60 domains bearing the Harrods tag. These included harrodsbank.com, harrodsbanking.com and harrodsamerica.com.

It was found that Harrods (Buenos Aires) Ltd. had deliberately registered names of services that Harrods offered but the South American company did not, such as banking and insurance.

China closes in on domain name

Seven months into their role in domain name disputes, arbitrators in China are looking forward to playing a more important role. According to the China Internet Network Information Centre (CNNIC), legal experts are now working on a new regulation that could expand the jurisdiction of arbitrators in handling domain name disputes.

The new policy will see arbitrators able to mediate disputes over English-language domain names. Arbitrators could also have the power to decide the ownership of domain names by taking into account criteria other than the fact that the domain names contain registered trademarks. This would be a significant step forward in the settlement of domain name disputes in China since the pilot mechanism, officially launched at the beginning of this year, limits the influence of the Domain Name Dispute Settlement Centre to Chinese-language domain names and can only protect trademark ownership.

3. NetNames News

Companies not yet .biz-y
~ 60% of businesses interested in registering a .biz domain
yet to submit application ~

London - July 6, 2001 - British companies have been told to act now if they want to secure their .biz domain name. The call follows research from domain name management company, NetNames, which found that 60% of companies interested in registering a .biz name had failed to do anything about it.

The company surveyed 100 companies and found that whilst the large majority were aware of the opportunities created by the new generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) like .biz, .info and .pro, few had acted to secure their name.

Holders of trade and service marks have the opportunity to register their intellectual property (IP) claim on the name by submitting an IP claim form for .biz. Applications for .biz domain names can be made through the NetNames web site at www.gtld.com. IP claim forms must be submitted before August 6, 2001, whilst the application phase runs until September 17, 2001. The domain will open on a first-come, first-served basis on October 1, 2001.

"It's astonishing that companies are failing to apply for their .biz after all the noise that's been made about them recently. If they aren't careful, firms that were too slow to obtain their .com the first time around will miss out on a .biz too," said Jonathan Robinson, CEO of NetNames, part of the NetBenefit Group.

".biz is a great way of navigating users to your corporate web site, but whilst a lot has been done by the registries to stay one step of the cybersquatters, it's up to companies themselves to apply for their domain," he continued. "If they don't, someone else will."

.

4 Nic News

.zr finally deleted

In a process that began with the end of Mobuto Sese Seko, Zaire has disappeared from the Internet. IANA noted today that the last of the .ZR names had been transferred to the new extension, .CD, which stands for the Democratic Republic of Congo.
For further information, please go to: http://www.iana.org/reports/zr-report-20jun01.htm

In the first half of this year, nine times as many web companies have been forced to close than in the same period last year. January to June 2001 saw 330 closures, compared with just 36 in 2000, following research from webmergers.com.

Nearly 60 per cent of the web company shut-downs since January 2000 have occurred in the first half of this year. The total number of web companies to have closed since January 2000 now reaches 550 or more.

The closures appear to be shifting from B2C (business to consumer) e-commerce to companies that provide internet access, infrastructure or consulting services to business or general audiences.

However, with 54 companies closing in June, 60 in May, and 59 in April, Webmergers.com are hoping that the shutdowns are beginning to steady, and may have reached a plateau.