Все новости от 23 июля 2004 г.

Domain Names

Domain names serve the function of addressees in the Internet and indicate particular space. When the user indicates this name, he can gain access to information contained in the server hooked into the web.

Domain names and the right to their administration arise the moment they are registered, that is, when information about the domain name and its administrator (owner) are entered into a designated data base. This guarantees the uniqueness of the domain name. At present the Russian segment of the Internet is using the so-called system of delegated registration, under which registration can be carried out by several authorized organizations, along with the initial registrar, RosNIIROS.

The current Russian legislation does not include any legal norms that specifically deal with the regulation of domain names. For this reason all the requirements for domain names, the procedures by which they are registered, and their use are being established by the registering organizations themselves (who make up the so-called Coordinating Group of the .ru zone). The registration is done on the basis of a civil contract made between the registrar and the applicant (or his representative responsible for payment).

A domain name consists of more than one symbol, beginning and ending with a letter from the Latin alphabet or a number. The symbols in between may be either Latin alphabet, numbers, or hyphens. The registration can be either in a first-level domain (.ru) or in a second-level domain, for example, in .com.ru, .net.ru, org.ru, and so on. Registration in several second-level domains, in particular, those that indicate geography, such as .msk.ru (for Moscow), is possible only when several conditions are met.

All applications for domain names are reviewed by the registrar in the order in which they are received. Using a registered trademark as the domain name does not give an applicant priority rights. No examination of the application is performed to check if someone’s rights are being violated, including owners of trademarks. For that reason it is sensible to register a domain name when registering a trademark.

Domain names can be registered by both legal entities and individuals. Registration is for one year and is extended by annual fees. A person can have an unlimited number of domain names. Information about registered domain names and their administrators are published on the server of the registrar and are accessible to all Internet users.

The administrator (owner) of a domain name can cancel registration at any time or transfer his rights to another person. The registration of a domain name can be annulled at the initiative of the registrar only if the fee is not paid or if the applicant provided false information about himself. In all other cases, including when there is a conflict with the owner of a trademark, the registration of a domain name can only be annulled by court decision.