NIC issues new rules to keep cybersquatters in Czech

Czech NIC has introduced a new system of alternative dispute resolution. Under the new rules a third party will be able to file an action concerning a disputed domain name with the Arbitration Court of the Economic Chamber, even if the domain name's owner does not agree to it.

The new system contrasts with the previous situation whereby arbitration could only be initiated where there was mutual agreement between both parties - a fairly unlikely scenario where cybersquatters are concerned. Consent to the new rules must be given by all new registrants, but existing registrants must also consent before renewing their domain names. This means that the rules will gradually apply retroactively. If consent is not provided by the registrant of an existing domain name before its renewal, the registration will be terminated.

The new system is expected to provide a far more efficient and effective means of dealing with domain name disputes in the Czech Republic than any of the options previously available to infringed parties, including the notoriously slow Czech courts.

David Taylor, Lovells, Paris