Domain names

Brand owners face difficult issues in policing the use of their trade marks on the internet. "Fly-by-night" infringers can cause considerable harm by setting up rogue web sites with confusingly similar names. Websites are digital shop fronts: it is important that online identity is protected.

The expansion of the domain name system means that it is possible to register keywords (“.music” and “.books”), or specific brand names (“.amazon”, ".mars"). It is also possible to register generic top level names, country codes, or a combination of both (“.org”, “.uk”, “.org.uk” respectively). These changes increase competitiveness and choice in the domain name space.