New Rules for Resolving Chinese Domain Name Disputes - Comparative Analysis

[David Goldstein <goldstein_david@yahoo.com.au>]

Hi all

An article that could be of interest to some... from the Journal of
Information, Law and Technology at http://elj.warwick.ac.uk/jilt.

Cheers
David

New Rules for Resolving Chinese Domain Name Disputes - Comparative
Analysis

Richard Wu
 School of Law
 University of Hong Kong
 richwswu@hotmail.com 

Abstract

On 7th November 2000, the People's Republic of China adopted the
Provisional Rules for Chinese Domain Name Dispute Resolution ('the
Rules' - see Appendix). They represent Chinese efforts to strengthen
management of Chinese domain name disputes, particularly for
'cybersquatting' cases. The article first analyses the salient
features of the Rules, including grounds for complaints, lawful
trademark rights of complaints, confusingly similar domain names, use
of domain names, bad faith intentions, legitimate interests of domain
name owners, proof of damages, remedies for complainants and time
limitations for filing complaints. The article also evaluates to what
extent the Rules are compatible with international practice, in
particular the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP).
The article then discusses new developments regarding domain name
disputes in other countries like the United Kingdom and United
States. As domain name dispute resolution is developing into a kind
of 'internet common law', it is likely that the Chinese dispute
resolution body will take into account the legal developments of
domain name dispute resolution in other jurisdictions. The article
evaluates the merits of the Rules, including their flexibility, low
cost and timesaving efficiency. It also evaluates their demerits,
including their restrictive scope, bias toward trademark owners,
inadequate coverage for 'reverse domain name hijacking', limited
range of remedies and possibilities for further court or arbitration
proceedings. The article then concludes that the Rules are laudable
as they represent an important step in combating 'cybersquatters',
thereby facilitating electronic commerce in China. However, the Rules
are inadequate as they fail to take into account the interests of
Internet users in 'non-commercial' sectors. 

Keywords: Domain Names, Provisional Rules for Chinese Domain Name
Dispute Resolution, Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy,
Cybersquatting, Reverse Domain Name Hijacking.

 http://elj.warwick.ac.uk/jilt/01-1/wu.html
 http://elj.warwick.ac.uk/jilt/01-1/wuappendix.html


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David Goldstein
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