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9 Juta's Bus. L. 174 (2001)
Acting against Cybersquatters: An Overview of the ICANN Domain Name Dispute Resolution System

handle is hein.journals/jutbusil9 and id is 174 raw text is: VOL 9 PART 4 Eddie Hurter Acting against cybersquatters An overview of the ICANN domain name dispute resolution system Introduction In October 1998 the Internet's broad interest communities and various governments collabo- rated in forming the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). This body is now recognized as the global consensus-based entity coordinating four basic internet sectors: the allocation of IP address space; the coordination of protocol number assign- ment; the management of the root server system; and the management of the Internet's Domain Name System. To carry out its mandate on the fourth item, ICANN approved the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP or the 'Policy') and the Rules for Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the 'Rules') on 24 October 1999. ICANN applies these rules and this policy under its Domain Name Dispute Resolution (DNDR) System (the 'resolu- tion system'). The Policy provides a mechanism to resolve disputes caused by cybersquatting. Cybersquatting is the bad-faith and abusive registration and use of a domain name in violation of rights in trademarks and service marks. Although the procedure under the Policy does not apply where the competing parties have acted in good faith, it does allow for disputes over cybersquatting to be decided in expedited administrative proceedings facilitated by one of the four dispute resolution service providers approved by ICANN: the CPR Institute for Dispute Resolution, eResolution, • the National Arbitration Forum, and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). In resolving cybcrsquatting disputes, these provid- ers follow both the 'Rules' and their own supple- mental ones. Structural features of the resolution system The resolution system provides an effective way of resolving international cybersquatting disputes and giving successful complainants an effective remedy. Two important features of the system account for this effectiveness: the procedure is mandatory, and the remedies available under the procedure are executed automatically. How is this effectiveness achieved? ICANN con- trols the 'root zone' file on the 'A root' server that contains all top-level domains. In turn, the admin- istrative dispute resolution procedure is uniformly available in all open gTLDs (generic top level domains, such as .com, .net, and . org) and in some ccTLDs (country-specific top4evel domains). In effect, then, the administrative dispute resolution procedure is mandatory. When applying to register a domain name, each applicant is required, in the domain name registration agreement, to submit to that procedure if a claim is instituted against it: ICANN specifies that when registrants and regis- trars in the relevant domain name spaces come to form their registration agreements, it is a manda- tory term that the parties submit to the Policy. ICANN can thus determine how registrars will work, not only as regards what terms must appear ISSN 1021 - 7061