1.
gTLD Update
Afilias
learn lessons from .info launch
Afilias,
the registry for the .info suffix, this week spoke of the
lessons it had learnt from the launch of the suffix earlier
this year.
.info
has been the first new gTLD to go live in a decade, and
so far some 435,000 domain names have been registered. The
launch has not been problem-free however.
Afilias
admitted that systems should have been tested to a higher
load, and steps would in future be taken to prevent unscrupulous
registrants entering the wrong information into the registration
form. This is especially true of the trademark field.
By
Afilias' own estimations, between 10 and 20 percent of Sunrise
applications were bogus. The registry plans to send over
5,000 suspicious applications to WIPO (the World Intellectual
Property Organisation) at the end of December for dispute
resolution.
2.
Industry
News
Rolex
wins right to Chinese domain name
Luxury
watch manufacturer, Rolex, this week won a lawsuit ordering
a Chinese company to stop using the Internet domain name
rolex.com.cn.
A Beijing
court ruled that the Beijing National Internet Information
Company Ltd. had 'violated the basic principles of honest
credibility', and ordered it to de-register the name and
pay Rolex 10,000 yuan (£850).
The
case is the latest example of Chinese effort to strengthen
its system of commercial law, particularly as it affects
foreign firms. These moves have gained added urgency with
the World Trade Organisation's recent approval of China's
application for membership, speeding China's entry into
the global economy.
Nasdaq
wins domain name case
Nasdaq,
the world's second-largest stock market, won its case this
week against a Canadian-based group that registered four
Internet domain names containing the word 'Nasdaq'.
The
Toronto-based 'Green Angel' group appeared to have used
the Nasdaq domain names to boost sales of books and advertising
on its web site.
The
ruling by WIPO (the World Intellectual Property Organisation)
ordered that the four contested domain names - nasdaqstockexchanges.com,
nasdaqexchanges.com, nasdaqstockmarket.com and nasdaqamexstockexchange.com
be handed over to Nasdaq. The parties have 10 days to appeal.
ICANN
meeting agenda
ICANN
(the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers)
this week posted up the agendas and other important information
relating to its forthcoming meeting on its web site. This
can be viewed at www.icann.org/mdr2001.
The
meeting will not follow the normal format. The meeting will
commence on November 12 with this day reserved for normal
business. However the remaining days, November 13-15, will
be devoted to a special meeting on the "Security and
Stability of the Internet Naming and Address Allocation
Systems."
3.
NIC News
.nr
to become high risk
.nr, the domain suffix of the South Pacific Island, Nauru,
this week announced that it would be soon opening up its
registry to all, allowing unrestricted, global access.
In a unique move for a ccTLD (country-code Top Level Domain),
the .nr domain will open in three distinct phases. Firstly,
a Sunrise period with registration restricted to companies.
In this case, the domain name must resemble the company
name. NetNames' fee to submit Sunrise applications is $674
/ £449 per domain name.
Meanwhile,
phase two, from October 16th, sees a limited quantity of
'premium' domain names being auctioned off. Finally, the
registry will open later this year for unrestricted registrations.
NetNames' fee to submit unrestricted applications will be
$319/£229 per domain name.
For
further information about the .nr registration process and
the domain auction, please contact NetNames.
New
South African domain registrations suspended
New
registration directly under the South African domain, .za
have been suspended following a proposal to change the organisation
responsible for maintaining the South African name space.
It is still possible to register under .co.za with no restrictions.
The
South African name space is currently maintained by the
National Research Foundation. The proposal awaiting approval
from ICANN is for a not-for-profit organisation to take
over responsibility. It can be expected that any new administration
will be more responsive to the calls to permit registration
under .info.za and .biz.za.
