Arbitration centre appointed to handle '.pw' disputes

PW Registry Corporation has appointed the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) as the exclusive provider of dispute resolution services for the top-level domain (TLD) '.pw'. The '.pw' TLD (which stands for 'personal web') is intended to be the only domain extension devoted to individuals and communities with shared interests.

Disputes handled by the HKIAC concerning '.pw' domain names will be governed by (i) the '.pw' TLD dispute resolution policy and rules, which have been approved for implementation by the registry corporation, and (ii) the HKIAC's supplemental rules for the policy. The dispute resolution process will be based only on the documents provided by the parties, with hearings being held only in exceptional cases.

In addition to the '.pw' TLD, the HKIAC also provides dispute resolution services for generic TLDs (eg, '.com' and '.net'). It is the sole provider of dispute resolution services for domain names in the '.hk' country-code TLD, and was appointed by the China Internet Network Information Centre as one of several providers responsible for domain names in the country-code TLD '.cn'.

The registry corporation also provides an automated IP claims service, which is offered under annual subscription to trademark owners so that they can monitor the TLD for potentially infringing domain names.

Rosita Li, Johnson Stokes & Master, Hong Kong