The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA), the
authority which regulates the .ca country code top-level domain
name, has announced that it will produce its own domain name
dispute resolution policy which will be based on ICANN’s Uniform
Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) but will also address criticisms
of these rules.
It is hoped that the new dispute resolution policy will offer
trade mark holders an alternative to costly and lengthy court
proceedings against alleged cybersquatters.
The UDRP of ICANN has been criticised for favouring trade mark
holders. In August, University of Ottawa professor Michael Geist,
also a member of CIRA’s board of directors, produced a report which
stated that UDRP domain name disputes heard by three member panels
instead of the more common single member panels tend to be less
biased towards trade mark holders. Accordingly, the new CIRA
dispute resolution policy will involve all disputes being heard by
three member arbitration panels.
The new CIRA proposals will also allow domain names to be held
in good faith in association with a non-commercial activity
including criticism, review, or news reporting. Under the UDRP, a
domain name may only be held if its use is non-commercial and fair,
and is not intended to misleadingly divert customers or dilute any
trade marks.
CIRA is accepting comments on the new proposed policy up to 5th
October with a final version to be submitted by 16th October. CIRA
is also accepting submissions by groups wishing to become the
arbitration body for the new dispute resolution policy. For more
information, visit www.cira.ca.
