Do you have an Internet domain name registered in the US? Might it be possible that it is the registered trademark or service mark of another company? If so be prepared to lose that name. The increasing number of disputes where Internet domain names clash with trademarks has forced the body that allocates names to abandon its strict first come, first served policy. Its new policy also clears the way for trademark holders to challenge existing owners of domain names. Network Solutions Inc of Herndon, Virginia runs the InterNIC domain name registration service under a co-operative agreement sponsored by the US National Science Foundation. InterNIC handles all the US domain names – those ending in com, .edu, .org, .net, .mil and .gov. Previously, requests for domain names have been granted without much thought to trademark ownership. The general policy has been that disputes should be resolved between trademark and domain name holders, without intervention from InterNIC. The new policy, which came into force on July 28, outlines a formal way in which disputes can be resolved. Should someone prove to Network Solutions that they hold a trade, or service mark, identical to a domain name, the company will ask for similar proof from the domain name holder.
Hold list
If this is not forthcoming, then the holder of the domain name will be allowed a reasonable period of time to transition to a different domain name. The disputed name then gets placed on a hold list, unused by anyone until the courts resolve the dispute. There have been a number of high-profile battles over domain name registrations in the past, perhaps the most infamous being the tussle over ownership of mtv.com. But the actual policy change comes in the wake of an acrimonious clash over knowledgenet.com. The trademark owners started legal proceedings against the domain name owners and cited Network Solutions as co-defendants. In the end, the dispute was settled out of court, with the trademark-holder getting the domain name. David Graves, Network Solutions’s Internet Business manager, said he knows of a dozen on-going disputes over ownership. The firm handles around 600 registrations a day and some users worry that its new policy will open the flood-gates to a host of litigious trademark owners determined to get their hands on relevant domain names. But Graves believes the number of disputes was inevitable, and he defends a neutral policy to balance the interests of trademark and of domain holders.
