On 16 March 2012 the 9th Court of Arbitration held a second trial on registration of domain names in zone .РФ. JSC Regional Network Information Center stood as the complainant and the FAS of the Russian Federation – as the defendant. As reported earlier, the FAS ordered JSC Regional Network Information Center to pay a penalty in the amount of 239,360.213 Rubles. JSC Regional Network Information Center challenged the FAS decision in the Court of Arbitration. This time, the 9th Court of Arbitration held the hearing as the first-instance court. Representatives of the Coordination Center participated in the hearing as a third party.
According to the FAS representative in the trial, the Terms and Conditions of domain names registration in zone .РФ promote competitiveness and equal opportunities for all registrars. The FAS representatives also noted that international domain names registration practices aim at combating cybersquatting and speculation, that is, ensuring the users are free to register and use domains for their own purposes.
Having examined all the circumstances of the case, the decision of the first-instance court was revoked. The decision of the Federal Antimonopoly Service regarding JSC Regional Network Information Center was upheld except for charges with coordination of economic activity. The Court also upheld the FSA ruling to transfer to the budget of the Russian Federation Rb 239,360.213 – worth the JSC Regional Network Information Center had collected in revenues from operations in violation of the national anti-monopoly law.
