Domain name registration

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Domain name registration

What is a domain name?

A domain name is an Internet address identifying a computer site connected to the Internet, in the same way that a telephone number uniquely identifies a telephone line connected to a telephoning network, or a street address identifies a particular house.

How does the domain name system work?

The domain name system is hierarchical featuring four levels. There are country code top level domains (ccTLD) and top level generic domains (gTLD). A common international generic top level domain for businesses is .com. In the UK, the National Registration Authority is Nominet UK which is a not-for-profit company. There is an on-line application procedure via the Nominet website (www.nominet.net). It offers seven second level domains under .uk, including co.uk for commercial enterprises, .org.uk for organisations, .net.uk for Internet service providers, .ltd and .plc for registered company names only and me.uk for personal users.

What are the new domains

There are a number of new domain names that have been approved by ICANN and which went live sometime ago now: .biz, for parties intending to use their domain name for business or commercial use, .info which will be open to everyone, .museum for parties intending to use their domain name for museums and .name for individuals intending to use their own domain names.

There are a potentially large number of domain names that could be launched. The most recent names that have launched are: .pro (professionals), .aero (aviation) and .coop (co-operatives).

Neustar has been selected by the Department of Commerce to manage the .us ccTLD (country code Top Level Domain) registry, the authoritative Internet address for the United States. For the first time, all U.S. residents, government entities, public service organisations and businesses will be able to establish the American identity on the Internet.

Where to register a domain name

There are currently over 220 jurisdictions in the world which have two letter country codes for use on the domain name system, such as .ar (Argentina), .sg (Singapore), .ph (Philippines). These are referred to as country code top level domains and applications should be made to the national registry of each respective country e.g. in the UK, it is Nominet.uk.

How to register

A person can register by either directly approaching the registry itself or using a registration agent. It is important to realise that registration agents are not the registry itself, but simply agents on behalf of the registry in question. Your contract will be with the registry itself.

How to transfer

Each domain name registry will have its own procedure by which to transfer a domain name and you should view the registry's website in order to ascertain the correct procedure.

How to maintain registrations

It is obviously important to renew a domain name prior to its expiry so that a competitor does not get the opportunity to procure it or a cybersquatter to make unlawful use of it. Registration of the domain name as a trade mark can help prevent unlawful use by cybersquatters. A Registrar usually sends out a reminder prior to a domain name's expiry, but you should not rely on this and make a diary reminder note.

How to acquire a domain owned by someone else

To work out whether a domain name is registered, you will first need to look in the WHOIS database (e.g. www.networksolutions.com/en_US/whois/index.jhtml). You can there see if it has already been registered by somebody and if so, what the expiry date of ownership is. If the date is in the near future, then as an alternative to approaching the owner directly from the details given in the WHOIS database with a view to purchasing it, you could consider diarising the expiry date and then keep checking for availability once that date has passed. If the current owner does not renew, you will of course still be subject to other prospective purchasers getting in before you. The way of potentially avoiding this is to register for the name through a company called SnapNames (www.snapnames.com), who for a fee will use automated tracking (and purchase, if possible) of the domain name in question.

The law stated in this guideline is believed to be correct as at 1 January 2004.

This guideline does not purport to be comprehensive or give specific legal advice. Before any action is taken on matters covered in this guideline, you should obtain professional advice.

Download a copy of the full guidelines in PDF format