We are updating Nominet’s Dispute Resolution Service (DRS) to keep the service quick, simple, fair and approachable for all who use it, and to make sure that it keeps abreast of changes in the external environment.

If you register domain names for yourself or your business, if you trade in domain names or, if you are concerned about protecting your online identity or that of your customers, then we want to hear your opinions.

What the Dispute Resolution Service (DRS) is for

Nominet’s DRS is our formal complaints process that handles disputes about the registration or use of .uk domain names. While the DRS prevents a lot of disputes from going to court, it is not designed to replace the need for the courts.

If you want to find out more about how the DRS currently works, there is a great deal of information on our web site. See:

• http://www.nominet.org.uk/disputes/drs/
  for a description of the service,
• http://www.nominet.org.uk/disputes/drs/help/typicalcases/
  for typical cases,
• http://www.nominet.org.uk/intelligence/statistics/drs/
  for statistics on the DRS, and
• http://www.nominet.org.uk/disputes/drs/updates
  for what’s changed since the last DRS review.

Why this service and this review might be of interest to you

Although the Dispute Resolution Service is widely used by a variety of organisations and individuals to challenge domain name registrations, there are also many businesses and people who are unaware of the service and how it works. As part of this consultation we are seeking to reach a wider audience of interested parties who may find the service useful and may therefore wish to contribute their views.

Brand Managers may be interested in the following points:

• You can use the DRS to protect your online identity
• Your domain names could be at risk from cybersquatters (third parties who seek to make money from your brand by registering similar names)
• You could use the DRS as part of your strategy to protect your brand and maximise your brand investments, and to avoid brand dilution

Small to medium businesses may be interested in the following points:

• Using the DRS to challenge a registration could help avoid lost revenue and sales through cybersquatting
• The reputation of your business is vitally important and the DRS can help you safeguard it and avoid reputation damage through abusive domain name registrations
• Protecting your online presence can prevent you losing business to competitors

The legal community may be interested in the following points:

• The legal landscape is changing, with more and more companies wanting to protect their brands and their reputation
• The DRS is a potential service to your clients, whichis a quick fix that can provide quick and cost effective solutions

The IT community may be interested in the following points:

• Managing IT assets is a key task, and your company’s domain name is becoming ever more important to protect. The DRS is a resource you can use if the domain name you want has been registered by a competitor or a party who you feel has less right to the name.

The consultation

This consultation has three parts: an online survey, an in-depth consultation document, and an outreach programme including a series of events and meetings. The consultation period lasts for 3 months from 17 November 2006 to 16 February 2007.

Anyone can respond to this consultation. Please either respond to the online survey; attend the outreach events and give your feedback; or email your answers to the questions presented in the consultation document to drsconsultation@nominet.org.uk. We look forward to receiving your comments.

All responses will be published on our web site however we reserve the right to remove any materials that in our reasonable opinion are defamatory, offensive or unintelligible.

What happens next?

Once the consultation has finished we will analyse the results and propose a revised policy and procedure to be adopted for the DRS.

This entry was posted in January, 2007.
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