July 19, 2000
Japan Network Information Center
(JPNIC)

Cancellations and transfers of domain names registered and used in bad faith will become possible International criteria adopted by localizing ICANN's Dispute Resolution Policy

Japan Network Information Center (President Jun Murai; Phone +81-3-5297-2311; "JPNIC" in the following) has formulated and publicized its JP Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy.

With the rapid increase in the Internet population and recent expansion of electronic commerce, various conflicts and disputes over domain names and trademarks are occurring. International discussions on how to resolve such disputes have been continuing for the past several years.

Although there have been few such disputes in Japan, some problematic cases have been reported, thus necessitating a system of resolving them. Japan has so far witnessed only a few domain name disputes due largely to the rules adopted by JPNIC of assigning one domain name per organization, and to its ban on domain name transfers. Although there have been demands to relax or abolish these rules in view of the rapid spread of the Internet in Japan, the rules effectively discourage the registration and use of domain names in bad faith, and so any discussion of relaxation and abolition must be predicated on the enforcement of the newly-established JP Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy.

JPNIC set up a task force for drafting a dispute resolution policy in December last year, and the task force has been studying the issue for the past six months. The policy established this time aims to resolve disputes by quickly cancelling or transferring domain names obviously registered or used in bad faith when complaints are made by rightful trademark owners. (Examples of domain name registration and use in bad faith include: acquiring a domain name reflecting a trademark for the purpose of reselling it to the trademark owner at a high price; establishing a Web site using a domain name identical or similar to a trademark owned by another party for the purpose of creating misunderstanding and confusion among Internet users)

Administrative proceedings of dispute resolution will be governed by dispute-resolution service providers approved by JPNIC. (JPNIC is presently conferring with several prospective organizations about the provision of this service.) The administrative proceeding will be faster (a decision will be made within 55 days at most) and cheaper (fees will be decided by the dispute-resolution service provider) than court proceedings. Moreover, parties concerned are not required to present themselves at the dispute-resolution service provider but simply must submit documents on the basis of which the proceedings will be carried out. Any party dissatisfied with a decision made by the service provider is allowed to file a suit in a court. (This differs from arbitration, which is a process of resolving a dispute outside the judicial system. Once a decision is reached by arbitration, the parties concerned are not allowed to commence a lawsuit even if they are dissatisfied with the decision.)

To determine the practical criteria of the dispute resolution policy and the system for administrative proceedings, JPNIC localized the "Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy" which was adopted and approved by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN: international policy-making organization which manages the assignment of Internet resources, such as domain names, IP addresses and protocols) in October 1999 and modified these rules to meet Japanese circumstances. Accordingly, while the dispute resolution policy established by JPNIC consists of voluntary rules to be followed by JPNIC and all the JP domain name registrants, its criteria and implementation are designed to keep pace with international trends.

The JP Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy goes into effect on October 19, 2000 after a three month long public disclosure period.

We appreciate the cooperation of the press in conveying the JP Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy to Internet users.

Reference URLs:

- JP Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy
<http://www.nic.ad.jp/doc/jpnic-00739.html>

- Rules for JP Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy
<http://www.nic.ad.jp/doc/jpnic-00740.html>

- Task Force Report on the Final Documents of the JP Domain Name
Dispute Resolution Policy
<http://www.nic.ad.jp/en/drp/jp-drp/final-tf-report-e.html>

- Task Force Report on the First Draft Documents of the JP Domain Name
Dispute Resolution Policy
<http://www.nic.ad.jp/en/drp/jp-drp/tf-report-e.html>

- Establishment of the Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy Task Force
<http://www.nic.ad.jp/en/topics/1999/19991215-01.html>

About Japan Network Information Center (JPNIC)

JPNIC is the organization in Japan solely responsible for the management and operation of international network resources such as domain names and IP addresses. (JPNIC is the ccTLD registry responsible for .jp domain names.) In addition, JPNIC conducts various research programs and studies as well as educational and promotional activities. JPNIC also coordinates international activities in response to the global expansion of computer networks. In 1997, after having spent four years performing various activities as an unregistered organization supporting the rapid expansion of the Internet, JPNIC was given permission to register as a government authorized non-profit organization by the Science and Technology Agency, the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, and the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. (N.B. ccTLD stands for "Country Code Top Level Domain".)

Contact:
Japan Network Information Center
Tel: +81-3-5297-2311
Fax: +81-3-5297-2314
E-mail: press-dom@nic.ad.jp
Web site: http://www.nic.ad.jp/