Are you Master of your Domain?

2013-11-18

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AREYOUMASTEROFYOURDOMAIN?

MARCELNAUD*
ROBIC,
LLP
L
AWYERS,PATENTANDTRADE-MARKAGENTS

Acompanymaygetintotroubleifitdoesnotadequatelyprotectitsdomainnames,
whichhavebecomecriticalextensionsofitsnames,trade-marks,projectsand
businessplacesontheInternet.
DomainnamesareubiquitousontheInternet,becausetheyarepartofwhatallows
userstofindtheirdestinations.Weseethemafterthe”@”symbolinemailaddresses
andfollowingthe”www.”inwebaddresses.Theyarescarceresourcesbecause,on
aworldwidescale,therecanonlybeoneholderforanygivendomainname.This
scarcitycreatesamarketfortheirregistration,eventotheextentthatthosethathave
anintrinsicvalueareprimetargetsforspeculation,auctionsandsometimes
cybersquattingandmisappropriation.
Wheredomainnamescomefrom?

Unlike“pure”intellectualpropertyrights(patent,copyright,trademark,industrial
design,etc.),thereisnoCanadianstatutespecifictodomainnames.

Oneacquiresarightinadomainnameinamannersimilartoaphonenumber:bya
servicecontractwithasupplier,whichgivestothecustomerexclusivityonuseofthe
domainnameinexchangeofanannualfee.Ifadomainnameisnotyetregistered,
anyonecanregisteritthroughtheregistrarofhischoice.

Foreachtypeofdomainname(suchas.com,.caororg),thereisonlyoneregistry
andoneregistryoperator,butseveralregistrarsaccreditedbytheregistryoperator.A
registrarcanbeaccreditedforseveraltypesanddealswithregistrants.

Whyregisteradomainname?

Adomainnamecanbeusedinconjunctionwithwebsiteandemailaddresses.Even
ifyoudonotintendtouseadomainnameactivelyorimmediately,registeringitwill
preventanyonefromusingitandmaydeterthirdpartiesfromadoptinganameora

©CIPS,2013.*FromROBIC,LLP,amultidisciplinaryfirmofLawyers,andPatentandTrade-markAgents.Published
intheSummer2013(Vol.17,no.1)Newsletterofthefirm.Publication068.164E.

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trade-markcorrespondingtothedomainnameduetothemerefactthatitisno
longeravailableasadomainname.
Howtoprotectyourdomainnames?

Yourorganizationshouldconductauditsand,wherenecessary,adoptappropriate
measuresinresponsetothefollowingquestions:1.Hasitacomplete,centralizedandup-to-datelistofallthe
domainnamesthatwereregisteredbyallitsconstituents
(departmentsofmarketing,IT,legalaffairs,researchand
development,etc.)?
2.Woulditbevulnerabletopotentialextortionbytheindividual
actingasadministrativecontactfordomainnamesusedinInternet
communicationsifrelationswiththatindividualdeteriorate

3.Doestheemailaddressenteredinthedomainnamerecordto
receivethenoticesfromtheregistrarcorrespondtotheaddressofan
individualwhomaynotberesponsibleforthedomainnamewhenit
willbeupforrenewal(sometimesaslongastenyearsfromnow)?

4.Arealltheorganization’sdomainnamesregisteredunderits
corporatename,oraresomeofthemregisteredunderothernames
(e.g.underthenameofanemployee,aconsultantortheagencythat
createdthewebsitetowhichthedomainnamemustlead)?

5.Arethedomainnames’recordsmanagedthroughasingle
registrarwithfacilitieslocatedinCanada?
6.Couldadisgruntledemployee,whodoesnothaveaccessto
passwordsforchangestothedomainnames’recordsortheir
transfertoathirdparties,obtainthemsecretlywithoutpermission?

7.Doestheorganizationhaveapolicyallowingittodetermine
whichdomainnamesitshouldregister,recover,reneworabandon?

Ifyourorganizationcannotgiveaproperanswertoanyoneofthesequestions,a
reviewofitsdomainnameportfoliowouldbeappropriate.

Whoistheholderofadomainname?

Tofindtheidentityofadomainnameregistrant,youcanperformaWHOISsearch,in
theregistrycorrespondingtothetypeofdomainname.The“administrativecontact”

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inadomainnamerecordistheprimarycontactforthedomainname.The
administrativecontactcanbetheregistrantoranyotherpersonauthorizedbyhimto
actonhisbehalfregardingthisdomainname.
However,therearesituationswhereinformationabouttheregistrantorthe
administrativecontactishidden,incompleteorerroneous.Forthosecases,
advancedsearchmethodsdoexist.
Inthecaseof.cadomainnames,theCanadianInternetRegistrationAuthority
requiresthattheregistrantmeetstheCanadianpresencerequirements.Forexample,
acompanycannotholda.cadomainnameifitisnotincorporatedunderaCanadian
law,unlessitownsatrade-markregisteredinCanadaandthedomainnameconsists
oforincludestheexactwordcomponentofthatregisteredtrade-mark.

Howcanonerecoveradomainname?

Toacquirerightsinadomainnamethatisregisteredbysomeoneelse,youcould
considernegotiation,arbitrationordelayedreservation.Thecurrentregistrantcould
holdthedomainnameingoodfaithorcouldbeacybersquatterlookingforfinancial
gainbytransferring”your”domainnametoyou.Beforeacting,however,onemust
carefullyassessthesituationtoavoidthatthepositiontakeninafirstcommunication
withtheownerdecreasesthechancesofrecoveringthedomainname.

Whendealingwitharegistranttobuyhisrightsinadomainname,ifherequiresa
paymentbeforethetransfer,itisusuallypreferabletouseanescrowagent(similarto
whatisdoneforsalesbetweenindividualsthroughonlineplatformssuchas
eBayTM),whichhelptosecurethetransactionforbothparties.

Whatdoesthefuturehold?

Wewillsoonseeanincreaseinthesetypesofnewsuffixessuchas.app,.book,
.blog,.expert,.homes,.news,.online,.browser,.shop,.site,.sites,etc.whichwill
coexistwithtotheusual.com,.caand.org.
Companiesthatownregisteredtrade-marksshouldconsidersubmittingthemtothe
validationprocessofICANN’sTrademarkClearinghouse,whichprovidesapriorityfor
registrationofthesenewtypesofdomainnamesandensuresthatanythirdparty
whorequestsregistrationofadomainnamecorrespondingtoatrade-markvalidated
byICANNbenotifiedthatsuchtrade-markexists,andthetrade-markownerbe
notifiedthatathirdpartyappliedfortheregistrationofacorrespondingdomainname.

ROBIC,ungrouped’avocatsetd’agentsdebrevetsetdemarquesdecommercevouédepuis1892à
laprotectionetàlavalorisationdelapropriétéintellectuelledanstouslesdomaines:brevets,dessins
industrielsetmodèlesutilitaires;marquesdecommerce,marquesdecertificationetappellations
d’origine;droitsd’auteur,propriétélittéraireetartistique,droitsvoisinsetdel’artisteinterprète;
informatique,logicielsetcircuitsintégrés;biotechnologies,pharmaceutiquesetobtentionsvégétales;
secretsdecommerce,know-howetconcurrence;licences,franchisesettransfertsdetechnologies;
commerceélectronique,distributionetdroitdesaffaires;marquage,publicitéetétiquetage;poursuite,
litigeetarbitrage;vérificationdiligenteetaudit.ROBIC,agroupoflawyersandofpatentand
trademarkagentsdedicatedsince1892totheprotectionandthevalorizationofallfieldsofintellectual
property:patents,industrialdesignsandutilitypatents;trademarks,certificationmarksandindications
oforigin;copyrightandentertainmentlaw,artistsandperformers,neighbouringrights;computer,
softwareandintegratedcircuits;biotechnologies,pharmaceuticalsandplantbreeders;tradesecrets,
know-how,competitionandanti-trust;licensing,franchisingandtechnologytransfers;e-commerce,
distributionandbusinesslaw;marketing,publicityandlabelling;prosecutionlitigationandarbitration;
duediligence.
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