‘.lu’ registry announces amendment to terms and conditions

The Luxembourg registry, DNS-LU, has announced that it will amend the terms and conditions of registration and management of ‘.lu’ domain names on June 11 2013.

This will result in two key changes to the policy governing domain names under ‘.lu’.

The first key change is that domain names that were previously temporarily blocked from registration will now be made available. The list of just under 100 domain names contains gems such as ‘sex.lu’, ‘horny.lu’, ‘bois-et-fermes.lu’ (which translates into English as ‘woods and farms’). These domain names, and others like them, will be made available on June 11 2013. A full list of these domain names can be found here.

The second key change to the terms and conditions will be the introduction of a ‘dispute request’ system. This will enable third parties claiming a right to a registered domain name to submit to DNS-LU a request that the domain name is blocked from being transferred to a new owner during a dispute. Should the registrant wish to transfer the domain name, it would be able to transfer it only to the party who had instigated the dispute request.

Currently, there is no alternative dispute resolution in place for ‘.lu’ domain names. As such, rights holders must initiate court proceedings to recuperate infringing domain names. As court proceedings can be costly, it is vital that the registrant of the domain name cannot engage in cyberflight and simply transfer the domain name to a third party upon receipt of a notification of litigation. Although the ‘dispute request’ system is not, strictly speaking, an alternative dispute resolution procedure, its introduction will greatly assist rights holders in enforcing their rights in the ‘.lu’ domain name space.

Readers who have encountered domain name issues in Germany will be familiar with this concept if they have made use of the DENIC dispute entry.

The request will need to be submitted to DNS-LU in a form which will be made available on the registry's website, and such form will have to be accompanied by supporting documentation proving the claimant’s rights. Documents must be written in French, German or English, or translated into these languages. DNS-LU also indicated that, for the request to be considered as valid, the claimant must also have instigated "formal measures" against the current holder of the domain name. The type of formal measures which will allow the filing of a dispute request has not yet been defined in the announcement, but will probably include the sending of a cease and desist letter to the registrant of the domain name, as is the case under the ‘dispute entry’ system put in place by DENIC.

The dispute request will be valid for an initial period of one year and will expire without further notice. DNS-LU may, however, extend it for an additional period of six months, provided the claimant submits a formal request for this purpose.

David Taylor, Sarah Taieb and Daniel Madden, Hogan Lovells LLP, Paris