[huridocs-tech] U.N.: Country Codes Need Rules

Wired News
URL: http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,41923,00.html

U.N.: Country Codes Need Rules
Associated Press

9:00 a.m. Feb. 21, 2001 PST
GENEVA -- Internet domains representing individual countries should
be subject to the same rules that govern names registered with
international domains like dot-com, the United Nations said
Wednesday.

Francis Gurry, assistant director-general of the U.N. World
Intellectual Property Organization, said a common set of rules would
help prevent "cybersquatting" where people register a famous name to
which they have no rights in order to sell it for a huge profit.

There are 244 "country code top-level domains," based on an
international standard which attributes a two-letter code to
countries and territories.

Those codes include dot-uk for Britain, dot-fr for France, dot-jp for
Japan and the seldom used dot-us, which has been mostly ignored in
the United States in favor of "generic" domains such as dot-com and
dot-org.

Gurry said different rules apply in different countries. Most domains
are administered by private companies but others such as in Argentina
are government-controlled.

In the Middle East, they are mostly controlled by universities. Rules
on who can register a domain name also vary. Sweden only issues
dot-se names to Swedish residents or to companies doing legitimate
business in Sweden. Other domains are open to anyone who pays for
them.

Some developing countries have given up their domains to be used
generically. The dot-tv suffix is bringing in millions for the tiny
Pacific island of Tuvalu, while Moldova's dot-md domain is being
marketed for use by health professionals.

"There is no authority which is responsible for all of these
internationally," said Gurry.

The lack of overall control leads to concerns that the flourishing
country domains will increasingly be the haunt of cybersquatters.

WIPO is trying to persuade administrators to sign up to a "uniform
dispute resolution policy" which sets rules on who is entitled to own
a certain domain name.

WIPO has issued a proposed set of guidelines for the administration
of country-code domains, including a recommendation that the uniform
policy is adopted even if it is not handled by WIPO.


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