The first day of RIW 2018 featured the section, The Legal Framework of Domain Registration, which was moderated by Deputy Legal Director of the Coordination Center for TLD .RU/.РФ Sergey Kopylov. The event brought together registrars, domain experts, and domain market security specialists. The discussion covered key trademark issues for online businesses, disputes between domain registrars or administrators and copyright owners, and other risks facing domain businesses.
In her speech, Marina Rozhkova, member of the Expert Council at the State Duma Committee for Information Policy, Information Technologies and Communications, IP Club President, and professor at Kutafin Moscow Law University, touched on a curious upcoming amendment to the legislation protecting the geographic origin of products. If geographic origin becomes the equivalent of a trademark, it could make life more difficult for the domain industry, Rozhkova said, prompting a surge in the number of domain disputes over geography.
Maxim Alzoba, FAITID, talked about the relationship between Russian and international right holders and registries, registrars, and registrants, and the position of ICANN. “Right holders want more rights over domain names than it is provided by the law. Why? Because it’s new, it’s interesting, and it can be lucrative,” Alzoba said. The speaker stressed the importance of a uniform approach to all registries and registrars regardless of jurisdiction, which, in his opinion, provides a certain guarantee for fair consideration of domain disputes in any country.
Alexandra Kulikova, ICANN Head of Global Stakeholder Engagement for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, talked about the ongoing Expedited Policy Development Process (EPDP) to make WHOIS conform with the European standards of personal data protection. Uniform access to the full WHOIS database, including accredited organisations, the accreditation process, and technical and procedural access type, is under discussion. The preliminary working report is available on the ICANN website, with an ongoing feedback process to collect opinions and information about local legal nuances in the hope of minimising the various legal and other incompatibilities before the final decision on WHOIS access is made, which is expected to take place in the spring of 2019.
Pavel Patrikeyev (REG.RU) and Anton Sergo (Internet and Law) talked about trends in domain name processes. Both joined the chorus of other speakers pointing out the courts’ lack of competence in domain name law as the chief issue. Among several paradoxical rulings cited by Anton Sergo was a case for the removal of several symbols from a domain name.
Alina Akinshina (Online Patents) shared the progress of a new service that was launched in late 2017 in conjunction with the Coordination Center to check the copyright of domain names to save businesses from possible legal implications.
An open Coordination Center Legal Committee meeting was also held, which included a discussion on the principles and approaches to domain dispute settlement, and the introduction of new terms.
The first day of RIW 2018 closed with a meeting of representatives of the Coordination Center and Technical Center of Internet with accredited registrars. The participants discussed the stop list, the development of the .RU and .РФ registration system in 2019, new trends in the statistical analysis of top level domains, and other related working issues.
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