The domain name is an equivalent of the IP address that provides access to the internet website. With the widespread use of the Internet, the importance of the domain name has grown and some unlawfulness may come to the fore. Today, the desire of people to do all their business over the internet has caused the commercial life to take an active role in the internet environment. For this reason, profit-oriented organizations have also started to set up websites. Therefore, the importance of the concept of domain name is growing day by day and the discussions about its legal nature are increasing.
- Domain Name Concepts
Every website has a specific IP address. The domain name, in other words, the domain, is derived due to the inconvenient use of IP addresses consisting of number strings. A domain name, like an IP address, is a means of accessing the website. Corresponds to strings of numbers generated by the IP address. On the other hand, unlike an IP address, it is memorable and readable.
The domain name shows a hierarchical structure as the top-level domain name and the secondary domain name. The secondary domain name is the part before the root of the domain name. This can also be called the body part of the domain name that first catches the eye. To explain with an example, the “law” part of the “www.law.com” domain name constitutes the secondary domain name. The top-level domain is the extension that follows the secondary domain name, forming the continuation of the dot. This extension is expressions such as “.com, .edu, .gov…” determined according to the nature of the domain owner. For example, in Turkey, we see the phrase “.edu” in the domain name of the websites of institutions recognized by the Council of Higher Education. Because, this phrase is an abbreviation of the English word education. On the other hand, the domain name can also contain the country code. Each country has its own code.
- Legal Nature of Domain Names
It should be said that as the main feature of the domain name, it is a means that provides access to the website. However, its response in society is not limited to this. Because, the secondary domain name, which we refer to as the body part of the domain name, also serves to introduce the institution or person that owns the site. Especially in commercial life, this function is of great importance. As a matter of fact, consumers want to gain access to the site by guessing the domain name as the name of the brand.
Due to the fact that the place of the domain name in the world of law is not very old and there are not enough legal rules in international states regarding this issue, some international organizations have been established. Although there are many organizations on this subject, we will consider the main ones.
ICANN is a non-governmental, non-profit organization founded in 1998. Although each country has organizations that determine its rules regarding domain names, all these organizations determine the rules within the framework drawn by ICANN. In other words, organizations have to fulfill the general conditions set by ICANN while performing domain name registration.
WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) has come to the view that there is a close relationship between the trademark and the domain name, and therefore the provisions related to trademark law can be applied here as well. Again, according to the “Report on Internet Domain Names Procedure” published by WIPO in 1999, the domain name is protected by intellectual property rights.
In 1999, the UDRP (The Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy) policy was brought to the agenda by ICANN. UDRP is a form of arbitration and there are some conditions for its application. These; the domain name is the same or similar to the trademark name, the domain name owner has no legitimate interest in using this domain name, and is allocating and using it in bad faith. There is also the URS (Uniform Rapid Suspension) method, which functions as a precautionary measure. With the URS application, it is possible to temporarily suspend the domain name registration. Since the UDRP process takes longer, this method can be applied beforehand. It is possible to advance two processes simultaneously.
- Authorized Institution for Domain Name in Turkey
The country code of Turkey is tr and some domain names may end with “tr”. Certain conditions must be met in order for the country code to be included in the domain name. These conditions vary from country to country, and each one determines its own terms. While the authorized institution on this subject in Turkey was the ODTÜ IT Department, BTK has undertaken this task since 2018. However, the authorized institutions of each country act in accordance with the framework policy adopted by ICAAN (The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers).
Conclusion
We live in an age where the society can do almost all of its work on the internet, spend most of its day in the digital environment and this is increasing day by day. In parallel with this, the importance of the concept of domain name is increasing day by day.
It is obvious that it is also important for individuals or enterprises using the Internet for commercial purposes. It is seen that the biggest violations are also against them. Therefore, there are special provisions for the users in question.
The global nature of the internet environment necessitated the formation of general rules regarding the domain name. This task is undertaken by ICANN and WIPO. Apart from this, each state must set its own rules. New legal protections should be provided according to the violations of the law, and the rules of law should keep up with this change and development.
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