Does Nominet have any legal authority to take my domain name from me?

[no1mum]

I am currently embroiled in the Nominet Disputer Resolution Service regarding

a domain name i purchased back in 2005. following some research I have done about them I am worried that they will lean in favour of the company that has complained rather than me because they have more money to throw about. It seems the Nominet system is a way of making money, and if you can't afford to fight you lose your name.

 

However having done some research, I cam across the itunes.co.uk dispute & it raised some interesting issues.

 

Apparently the DTI states "we are not aware of any statutory recognition of Nominet. A domain name is a written representation of an internet electronic address and as such, like any other form of address e.g. a postal address, it should not be treated as intellectual property per se."

 

Following questions made under the Freedom of Information Act, the government has stated that there is "no formal relationship or written agreement" between the UK government and Nominet. As such, it is not a public body and so is subject only to the usual laws covering UK companies.

 

Now if this is the case, then does Nominet actually have any right whatsoever to take domain names away from people who have paid for them?

 

I could really use some help with this one guys, as I am more than willing to fight this all the way.

[citizenB]

bump x

[Conniff]

Yes.

 

Nominet is the UK authority that manages Uk domain names.

 

If you had a name that was similar to a trade name, and the owner of that trade name requested it, Nominet can take it from you.

 

This is to stop people cashing in on trade names. In the begining of the internet, lots of trade names like 'Coca Cola' were bought up and hugh sums of money demanded for the release of that name to the company. That has all been stopped now, but there are some that slip through now and then.

[Chromatix]

There have also been problems with "typosquatting", where unscrupulous people buy domain names that are *similar* to actual domain names, and put either pay-per-view advertising or "unsavoury content" on them.

 

The backlash against this has caught some legitimate people however, such as "mikerowesoft.com" which was set up by a software engineer called Mike Rowe, but the name was then turned over to Microsoft by the registrar.

 

Nominet is not a public body, but they *are* the authority for .uk domain names. As a result, they have a duty to correct instances of domain-squatting and typosquatting. However, if you are doing neither of these things and can show legitimate interest in the domain name in question, you should - morally at least - be able to get it back.