DOMAIN NAMES

The Internet was created in the 1960s due to the requirements of the US Department of Defense, which needed to develop a decentralized telematic network. The reason why Internet has become so widespread is that it has made possible the exchange of information using a common protocol, connecting the networks of the various Universities, governments and private Companies irrespective of the specific hardware or software they used.

The location inside a network was defined by the IP address (a set of numbers), which identified the exact position of a device connected to the net. To use a metaphor, the IP address is comparable to the street number of a building. The public use of Internet became so widespread due to the introduction of the DNS (Domain Name System), which allowed to combine a name or numbers, or a combination of the two, with a particular IP address, thus making it easier for users to remember.

Domain names are classified in various levels: the first two are regulated by international organisms that oversee the use, give them to those who apply for them and keep them is appropriate registers known as whois.

1. Generic Top-Level Domain (GTLD), that is, for example: .com, .net, .org, .biz, .info, .mil, .gov, . edu, .int.
2. Country code top-level domain (cc TLD), that is, for example: .it, .de, .fr, .at, .cn, etc.

In the GTLDs, the extension characterizes, or should characterize:

1. .com: a commercial activity;
2. .org: non-commercial organizations;
3. .net: organizations operating on the net;
4. .edu: educational institutions;
5. .gov: governmental institutions;
6. .mil: military bodies or similar;
7. .biz: commercial businesses;
8. .info: has no particular characterization;
9. .name: characterizes sites for exclusive use.

Since 2001 further extensions have been made available, with a sectorial character and access limited only to those with the requirements imposed by the individual Registers which manage such extensions, such as for example .AERO for the aeronautics industry, .MUSEM for museums and cultural bodies, .COOP for cooperatives and .PRO for professionals. Finally, in 2004 the extension .EU was created, reserved for citizens and businesses resident or registered in the European Union, and since 2007 the extension .ASIA reserved for the countries of Asia has been activated. Many other sectorial or territorial extensions are being studied by the competent bodies in order to divide the Internet contents and to increase the names available.

Second-level domain names consist of two parts, for example glp.it: starting from the right, the first part of the name is defined as “extension” and usually refers to the country of origin of the company (in the example, the extension indicates a domain registered in the Italian register); the left part is the name chosen by the owner and can consist of letters (a-z) numbers (0-9) and the symbol “-“. For the moment, accented letters or other symbols are not allowed.
Second-level domain names can be registered in the name of the applicant, and except for particular extensions, assignation of the name is done on a “first come, first served” basis.

A second-level domain name is a univocal address and therefore has a bivalent character: technical with regard to the exact location in Internet and distinctive since it allows to associate names, products and/or services to a particular body or Company.

Trademark, domain name

Using a domain name which reproduces a trademark registered by a third party is equivalent to a trademark infringement. The discipline regarding unfair competition pursuant to article 2598 of the Civil Code is applicable both with regard to using domain names identical to others, and also with regard to the content of the sites.
The phenomenon of Cybersquatting or Cybergrabbing is well-known: this identifies the abusive occupation of domains corresponding to the distinctive signs of a Company or a body, in the attempt to exploit their fame so as to promote or sell products, usually of competitors, or the attempt to re-sell the name to the best bidder, which may be the Company itself, or a competitor or a third party.
In Italy the official recognition of the domain name as a distinctive sign is disciplined by the new formulation of art. 22 IPC.
Disputes concerning domain names can be solved through arbitration and the procedures to re-assign domain names according to the rules of “Uniform Domain Resolution Policy” established by ICANN, or MAP procedures, established by the Italian Naming Authority/Registration Authority or other procedures established by all the bodies that assign domain names.