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New Rules for Resolving Chinese Domain Name Disputes - Comparative
Analysis

Richard Wu
 School of Law
 University of Hong Kong
 richwswu§hotmail.com 

Abstract

On 7th November 2000, the People's Republic of China adopted the
Provisional Rules for Chinese Domain Name Dispute Resolution ('the
Rules' - see Appendix). They represent Chinese efforts to strengthen
management of Chinese domain name disputes, particularly for
'cybersquatting' cases. The article first analyses the salient features
of the Rules, including grounds for complaints, lawful trademark rights
of complaints, confusingly similar domain names, use of domain names,
bad faith intentions, legitimate interests of domain name owners, proof
of damages, remedies for complainants and time limitations for filing
complaints. The article also evaluates to what extent the Rules are
compatible with international practice, in particular the Uniform Domain
Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP). The article then discusses new
developments regarding domain name disputes in other countries like the
United Kingdom and United States. As domain name dispute resolution is
developing into a kind of 'internet common law', it is likely that the
Chinese dispute resolution body will take into account the legal
developments of domain name dispute resolution in other jurisdictions.
The article evaluates the merits of the Rules, including their
flexibility, low cost and timesaving efficiency. It also evaluates their
demerits, including their restrictive scope, bias toward trademark
owners, inadequate coverage for 'reverse domain name hijacking', limited
range of remedies and possibilities for further court or arbitration
proceedings. The article then concludes that the Rules are laudable as
they represent an important step in combating 'cybersquatters', thereby
facilitating electronic commerce in China. However, the Rules are
inadequate as they fail to take into account the interests of Internet
users in 'non-commercial' sectors. 

Keywords: Domain Names, Provisional Rules for Chinese Domain Name
Dispute Resolution, Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy,
Cybersquatting, Reverse Domain Name Hijacking.

 http://elj.warwick.ac.uk/jilt/01-1/wu.html
 http://elj.warwick.ac.uk/jilt/01-1/wuappendix.html