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Member States Look at Ways of Curbing Abuseof Virtual Identifiers

Geneva, May 27, 2002
Press Updates UPD/2002/166

The second of two special sessions of the Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT), reviewed whether currently existing procedures to protect trademarks against abusive domain name registrations should be expanded in the future to cover other types of identifiers, such as the names of intergovernmental organizations, the names of persons, international non-proprietary names of pharmaceutical substances (INNs), geographical indications, country names and trade names. The Committee met in Geneva from May 21 to May 24, 2002, and was attended by 75 member states, the European Community, 16 intergovernmental organizations and 15 non-governmental organizations. The second special session focused mainly on determining, from among the above-mentioned identifiers, which warranted protection in the DNS at this stage and how such protection should be instituted. The Committee's recommendations will be submitted for decision to WIPO member states in September 2003.

Discussions were based on the report of the Second WIPO Internet Domain Name Process (http://wipo2.wipo.int/process2/report/index.html) which noted that, while there is clear evidence of abuse of the identifiers in question in the domain name space (DNS), the international legal framework is not sufficiently well developed to introduce new protective measures for all the identifiers concerned. In September 2001, WIPO member states decided that the report required further study and convened two special sessions of the Standing Committee to that end.

Below is a summary of the Committee's conclusions regarding each identifier:

International Non-Proprietary Names of Pharmaceutical Substances (INNs)

Many delegations favored protection of INNs against their registration as domain names to protect the integrity of the INN system. While it was decided not to recommend a specific form of protection at this stage, it was agreed that WIPO should, in cooperation with the World Health Organization, continue to monitor the situation and, if necessary, bring to the attention of WIPO member states any material change in the situation.

Trade Names

Discussions on whether to modify the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) to accommodate trade names were inconclusive. One group of countries wished to treat trade names in the same manner as trademarks. Other countries felt that there was no internationally accepted legal basis on which to underpin the extension of the UDRP to trade names. It was decided that WIPO member states should continue to monitor the situation.

Personal Names

The Committee decided to recommend that no action be taken regarding personal names.

Geographical Indications

The Committee decided that it was not timely to take definitive decisions on the protection of geographical indications in the DNS. It noted that some delegations considered that the issue needed urgent attention, while others believed that certain fundamental questions concerning the protection of geographical indications needed to be resolved before the question of their protection in the DNS could be discussed. It was recommended that the WIPO General Assembly revert the issue of the protection of geographical indications in the DNS to the regular session of the SCT to decide how it should be dealt with.

Names and Acronyms of Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs)

Discussions on the protection of the names and acronyms of IGOs were opened by Mr. Hans Corell, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and The Legal Counsel of the United Nations, speaking on behalf the Legal Advisers of the United Nations system. Mr. Corell presented evidence of the abuse in the DNS of the names and acronyms of IGOs and proposed measures to resolve this problem. All delegations, except one state, supported a recommendation to protect the names and acronyms of IGOs through modification of the UDRP in cases where their registration or use as domain names was inconsistent with applicable treaty provisions, including Article 6ter of the Paris Convention. Article 6ter offers certain protection for state-related identifiers and emblems (e.g. flags) and for similar identifiers and names of IGOs. It was also recommended that the system to be established to protect these names should respect the privileges and immunities granted to IGOs under international law.

Country Names

The large majority of delegations favored some form of protection for country names. These delegations considered that protection should operate against the registration or use of a domain name which is identical or misleadingly similar to a country name, where the domain name holder has no right or legitimate interest in the name and when the domain name is of a nature that is likely to mislead users into believing that there is an association between the domain name holder and the constitutional authorities of the country in question.

WIPO's first Internet Domain Name Process, which focused on ways to minimize abusive registration of trademarks as domain names or "cybersquatting", led to the current UDRP. Since its launch in December 1999, the UDRP has provided the means for solving thousands of "cybersquatting" disputes. The report of the first WIPO process noted that certain issues relating to intellectual property still remained unresolved insofar as they relate to the use of other identifiers in the domain name system.

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  • Tel: (+41 22) - 338 81 61 or 338 95 47
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  • Email: publicinf@wipo.int.
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