On May 15, 2001, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), announced that it had finalized accreditation agreements with the new .biz and .info top level domain (TLD) registries. The registry operators for these TLDs are NeuLevel (. biz) and Afilias (. info). Although the U. S. Department of Commerce must still provide approval for accreditation of these TLDs, ICANN, NeuLevel and Afilias are anticipating approval and moving forward.
Dot- biz (. biz) will be a restricted TLD only available to entities desiring to establish e- commerce Web sites or advertise their businesses via the Internet. Dot- info (. info), on the other hand, will be an unrestricted TLD available to any business or person to register for any purpose.
In introducing the new TLDs, NeuLevel and Afilias have adopted specific procedures to provide for a fair and orderly means of granting domain name registrations. More importantly, these procedures have been implemented to attempt to protect the intellectual property rights of trademark owners. Under each of NeuLevel’s and Afilias’s procedures there will be a specific period of time in which a trademark owner may assert its intellectual property rights prior to the commencement of the general registration period. Trademark owners should review these procedures carefully and be certain to assert their rights during the short window made available by NeuLevel and Afilias. The procedures of both registries are summarized below; however, additional information may be obtained at the respective Web sites of these registries at http:// www. neulevel. comand http:// www. afilias. com, as well as at http:// www. icann. org.
NeuLevel (. biz)
Intellectual Property Claim Service. Beginning on May 21, 2001 and ending on approximately July 9, 2001, an intellectual property owner (IP Owner) will have the opportunity to submit a claim with NeuLevel for its IP Claim database. A fee, the amount of which has yet to be determined, will be charged in connection with each IP Claim. In submitting an IP Claim, the IP Owner will need to provide to NeuLevel, among other information, the mark for which it is claiming intellectual property rights; a description of goods/ services including the international class of goods and services; the date the mark was first used in commerce; whether the mark is based upon a registration or application with any national trademark office (and the effective date of the registration or application) or based on common law rights; and the country where the mark was first used. The submission of an IP Claim does not automatically create a domain name application. Therefore, if an IP Owner that filed an IP Claim also wants the opportunity to register the domain name, the IP Owner must file a separate application for the domain registration.
During the domain name application process, NeuLevel will monitor all domain name applications to determine whether there are any exact matches with the marks in the IP Claim database. If there is an exact match between the mark that an IP Owner has claimed and a domain name application, NeuLevel will notify and advise the domain name applicant of the IP Owner’s claim. A domain name applicant that has been notified of an IP Claim will then be required to notify NeuLevel that it still wants to proceed with its domain name application; without this notification, the application will not be processed further. Should an IP conflict occur during the application process, only IP Owners that have submitted IP Claims during the relevant period will be allowed the opportunity to participate in the .biz Start- Up Trademark Opposition Policy (STOP). The benefit of the STOP Program is that (1) there is a lesser burden of evidence than under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) and (2) the IP Claimants (while there may be more than one) will have the first opportunity to resolve a conflict if one arises.
Domain Name Application And Selection. Beginning in July and ending on September 25, 2001, NeuLevel will open the application process to businesses. Applications will be made with registrars who have been accredited by ICANN to register the .biz domain names. These domain name registrars have not yet been announced but will be provided on NeuLevel’s Web site in the near future. At the close of the application process, domain names will be awarded to selected registrants. In the interest of impartiality, in those cases where more than one application was submitted for the same domain name, the domain name will be awarded to an applicant randomly selected by NeuLevel from all of the applications for that particular domain name.
Commencement Of .biz Registry. On October 1, 2001, all of the .biz domain names will become operational, unless the domain name is subject to an IP Claim. Any domain name that is subject to an IP Claim will be automatically placed on hold for a 30- day period, during which time the IP Claimant will be notified that there is a match between a domain name registration and their IP Claim. During this 30- day hold period, the IP Claimant is given the opportunity to use the STOP program or take other appropriate action against the domain name registrant.
Violation Of Business- Only Restriction Of TLD. Third parties and NeuLevel will have the right and opportunity to challenge a domain name registrant’s ownership of a .biz domain name if the nature or purpose of the domain name violates the business- only restriction. In the event that there is such a challenge by either a third party or NeuLevel, a separate dispute resolution policy entitled the Restriction Dispute Resolution Policy (RDRP) will be used.
Afilias (. info)
Sunrise Period. Beginning in late June and ending in late July, Afilias will offer a 30- day "sunrise period" to owners of any current trademark or service mark (Trademark Owner) that was registered (in the United States or other country) prior to October 2, 2000. During this period Trademark Owners are eligible to register a .info domain name. The domain name must be identical to the textual elements of the trademark or service mark. Trademark Owners who qualify for registration of the .info domain name during the sunrise period must apply for the domain name through a registrar that has been accredited by ICANN to register the .info domain names. These registrars have not yet been announced but will be provided on Afilias’s Web site in the near future. The .info domain names will not be processed on a first- come, first- serve basis during the sunrise period or start- up period. Rather, domain name registration requests will be collected by Afilias in a round robin manner from the various registrars and subsequently processed. In the event that more than one application is submitted for the same domain name, the registration will be awarded to an applicant who is selected at random from all applicants applying for that particular domain name.
Sunrise Challenge Period. If a domain name that matches a trademark or service mark of a Trademark Owner was registered by another party during the sunrise period, the Trademark Owner may, at the end of the sunrise period, commence a dispute during the Sunrise Challenge Period. The Sunrise Challenge Period continues for 120 days from the end of the sunrise period. Such challenges may be brought on the following bases: (1) the domain name registrant does not own a current trademark registration; (2) the valid and enforceable trademark registration was not a national registration (in the United States or other country); (3) the second level portion of the domain name is not identical to the trademark registration; or (4) the trademark registration was not issued prior to October 2, 2000.
Start- Up Period – Registration Of .info Domain Names For The Public. Afilias will begin accepting registrations for .info domain names from the public 15 days after the end of the sunrise period. The public can apply for a .info domain name through registrars that have been accredited by ICANN to register the .info domain names. The procedure involving the collection of registration requests and awarding of registrations will be the same as that used during the sunrise period; however, any disputes regarding the domain names registered during the start- up period must be settled according to the UDRP or through the court system. The start- up period is expected to last for approximately 18 days. Within two days after the close of the start- up period, the post start- up period will commence and continue indefinitely. Domain name applications submitted during the post start- up period will not be subject to the round robin selection method.
Commencement Of .info Registry. . info domain names registered during the sunrise period will become operational within seven days after the beginning of the start- up period. .info domain names awarded during the start- up and post start- up periods are expected to become operational after they have been processed by Afilias. As the registration process for these TLDs
begins, companies and individuals should be aware that there are no ICANN- sanctioned preregistration services for .biz, .info or any other potentially new TLDs at this time. Any service that claims to provide pre- registration services for the new TLDs and guarantees the granting of or preferential treatment for a particular domain name with one of the new TLDs may be fraudulent.
This bulletin, which may be considered advertising in certain jurisdictions, is provided with the understanding that it does not constitute the rendering of legal or other professional advice by Goodwin Procter LLPor its attorneys.