Category: Domain Name Law

The legal status of domain names has long been a point of contention among courts, lawmakers, and digital property holders. At the heart of this debate is a deceptively simple question with far-reaching consequences: are domain names considered property or are they merely licenses? This distinction is more than semantic—it affects everything from bankruptcy proceedings…

The domain name system (DNS) operates through a layered structure where registries and registrars play distinct but interdependent roles. At the heart of this structure are a series of contracts—many of which remain opaque to the average domain name registrant. While these agreements might appear routine or technical on the surface, they contain clauses with…

In the vast and often impenetrable thicket of legalese that makes up the Terms of Service (ToS) agreements of domain name registrars, one of the most significant yet frequently overlooked provisions is the choice-of-law clause. These clauses, typically nestled deep within dense contractual language, designate which jurisdiction’s legal system will govern any disputes arising out…

Cybersquatting, the act of registering, trafficking in, or using a domain name with the bad faith intent to profit from the goodwill of a trademark belonging to someone else, has become a significant legal and commercial issue in the internet age. As domain names have grown into essential business assets, the value of securing relevant,…

The Domain Name System (DNS) serves as the backbone of the modern internet, transforming the complexity of numerical Internet Protocol (IP) addresses into human-readable domain names that are easier to navigate and remember. Without DNS, the usability of the internet would be significantly impaired, as users would be required to remember lengthy sequences of numbers…

As the internet transcends physical borders, the application of conflict-of-law principles to online assets has become a critical and increasingly complex area of jurisprudence. Online assets—including domain names, digital wallets, social media accounts, cloud-hosted data, and intellectual property existing solely in digital form—do not reside within a single territorial jurisdiction. This detachment from geography challenges…

The Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA), enacted in the United States in 1999, was designed to combat the bad-faith registration of domain names that exploit the trademarks of others. While initially conceived as a domestic remedy against cybersquatting, the ACPA’s reach has, over time, extended well beyond the borders of the United States. For non-U.S.…

The Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy, known as the UDRP, is an administrative procedure developed by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to resolve disputes concerning the registration of internet domain names. Since its implementation in 1999, the UDRP has become the predominant mechanism for trademark holders seeking the transfer or cancellation of…

The Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) procedure for .EU domain name disputes, administered by the Czech Arbitration Court (CAC), represents a specialized legal mechanism that differs in meaningful ways from the more globally familiar Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP) applied to generic top-level domains such as .com or .net. While both systems aim to provide efficient,…

The Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH) is a centralized database established by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) as part of its effort to protect trademark rights during the expansion of the domain name system. Introduced alongside the New gTLD Program in 2013, the TMCH serves as a rights protection mechanism for verified trademark…