Consultation Paper on the Review on Administration and Assignment

Consultation Paper on the Review

on Administration and Assignment

of Internet Domain Names and

Internet Protocol Addresses

in Hong Kong

Information Technology and Broadcasting BureauThe Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

June 2000

i

Table of Contents

Page

Purpose 1

Background 1 Internet domain names and Internet Protocol (IP) addresses 1 Recent global developments on Internet domain names

and IP addresses2

Administration and assignment of Internet domain namesin Hong Kong

3

Allocation of IP addresses 5 Chinese domain names 6

Review on the administration and assignment of Internetdomain names and IP addresses in Hong Kong

6

Proposed Institutional Arrangements 7Policy-making and administrative function relatingto Internet domain names

7

Policy-making function relating to IP addresses 9Administrator of the "country-code" top leveldomain registry

10

Registrar and agents 10Domain Name Registration for .hk Domain Names 11

The guiding principles 11Registration guidelines for .hk domain names 12

Reserved List 12

Format and business nature of a domain name 13

"First come, first served" principle 14

Multiple domain names per registrant organisation 15

Transferability of domain names 16

Local presence 16

Domain names for individuals 17Renewal of domain names 17

Dispute Resolution for .hk Domain Names 17

Dispute resolution guidelines 17

Registration authority to maintain a neutral role 17

Alternative dispute resolution mechanism 18

ii

Page

Summary 19

Consultation period and means for submitting comments 22

Annex A : Terms of Reference of Task Force on the Review onAdministration and Assignment of Internet domainnames and Internet protocol addresses in Hong Kong

Annex B : Membership List of Task Force on the Review onAdministration and Assignment of Internet domainnames and Internet protocol addresses in Hong Kong

Annex C : Comparison Table on the Organisation and Practices ofNetwork Information Centres

Purpose

This Consultation Paper invites comments from the public onthe future arrangements for the administration and assignment of Internetdomain names and Internet protocol addresses in Hong Kong.

Background

Internet domain names and Internet protocol addresses

2. Every computer connecting to the Internet has a unique Internetprotocol (IP) address. IP addresses are also assigned to servers,workstations and other network equipment/components connected to theInternet. An Internet domain name is a character-string representation ofan IP address which provides an easy-to-remember and convenient-to-find location for a web site on the Internet. All Internet domain namescan be broadly categorised under either the generic top level domains(such as .com, .org, etc.) or the "country-code" top level domains (suchas .hk, .cn, .au, etc.).

3. There are currently seven generic top level domains (gTLDs),namely, .com for commercial entities, .org for non-profit makingorganisations, .edu for academic institutions, .net for networkproviders, .gov for the United States (US) Government, .mil for the USmilitary and .int for international databases or organisations establishedby international treaties. Companies accredited by the InternetCorporation for Assigned Names and Numbers1 (ICANN) may act asregistrars and provide registration services for the .com, .net and .orggTLDs. There are currently over 100 such accredited registrars.

4. "Country-code" top level domains (ccTLDs), on the other hand,are assigned to local Internet communities according to the two-lettercodes in the ISO 3166-1 standard, "Codes for the Representation ofNames of Countries and Their Subdivisions". Under the ccTLD, there

1 The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is a non-profit making

organisation established to takeover, by September 2000, the responsibility for IP addressallocation, protocol parameter management, domain name system management and root serversystem management currently undertaken by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA).

- 2 -

are often a number of second-level domains by generic description. In thecase of Hong Kong, there are five second-level domains under .hk,i.e. .com.hk, .org.hk, .net.hk, .edu.hk and .gov.hk. At present, the HongKong Network Information Centre (HKNIC) under the Joint UniversitiesComputer Centre2 (JUCC) is the only organisation which providesregistration service under these domains.

Recent global developments on Internet domain names and IP addresses

5. The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) was set upby the US Government in the 1970s to manage Internet domain namesand IP addressing systems. The IANA derived its authority under acontract from the US Government, which financed the original researchnetwork, ARPANET, from which the Internet has developed.

6. The need to internationalise the governing of the Internet led theUS Government to recommend the establishment of the ICANN as aglobal entity independent of governments to manage the systems andprotocols that allow the Internet to develop. In October 1998, the ICANNwas formed as a non-profit making corporation that will take over, bySeptember 2000, the responsibility for IP address allocation, protocolparameter management, domain name system3 (DNS) management androot server system management currently undertaken by the IANA.

7. The Board of Directors of the ICANN (19 directors in total withthe President and Chief Executive Officer of the ICANN as an ex officiodirector) is to be elected through an open and global election process so asto ensure its representation of the geographically diverse Internet usercommunities. Under the ICANN Bylaws, no government official mayserve as a director in the ICANN Board. This notwithstanding, theICANN has set up a Governmental Advisory Committee4 (GAC) toconsider and advise on the activities of the ICANN as they relate to theconcerns of governments, particularly on matters where there may be an

2 The Joint Universities Computer Centre (JUCC) is jointly run by the Computer Centres of the

eight tertiary institutions funded by the University Grants Committee in Hong Kong.3 The domain name system is the computer system in which Internet domain names are stored and

translated into IP addresses which can uniquely identify a computer on the Internet.4 There are currently two Advisory Committees under the ICANN, namely the GAC and the DNS

Root Server System Advisory Committee. Advisory Committees have no legal authority to act forthe ICANN, but will report their findings and recommendations to the Board.

- 3 -

interaction between ICANN's policies on the one hand and local laws andinternational agreements on the other. The Director of InformationTechnology Services represents the Government of the Hong KongSpecial Administrative Region (HKSAR) on the GAC.

8. Since its establishment in October 1998, the ICANN has passeda number of resolutions, mostly related to organisational issues and thesetting up of its supporting organisations. Of these, two5 have a generalbearing on the administration of domain names worldwide. One relatesto the registrar accreditation policy and the other to the uniform disputeresolution policy for gTLD registrars. The ICANN is also activelyaddressing important issues such as policies relating to the creation ofnew gTLDs and policies pertaining to the delegation and administrationof ccTLDs.

Administration and assignment of Internet domain names in Hong Kong

9. In April 1990, the University and Polytechnic Computer Centre,the predecessor of the JUCC, registered the country-code top leveldomain, i.e. ".hk", for Hong Kong. This is a reflection of the historicaldevelopment of Internet usage in Hong Kong, which was confined to theacademic sector in the early days. The assignment of second leveldomains under .hk (i.e. .com.hk, .net.hk, .edu.hk, .org.hk and .gov.hk6) isat present administered by the HKNIC, whose technical operations areundertaken by the Computer Services Centre of the Chinese University ofHong Kong (CUHK). The HKNIC does not currently register domainnames under the gTLDs such as .com, which is the responsibility of theregistrars accredited by the ICANN.

10. The HKNIC charges a one-off fee of $200 for each applicationfor registration of new domain names or modification of existing domainnames. It does not charge any annual fee or renewal fee. As of April2000, the number of domain names ending with .hk is around 37 000whereas the number of monthly new applications exceeds 2 000.Currently, it takes about two working days to register a new domain nameand seven working days to modify an existing domain name. 5 The two policies are applicable to .com, .org and .net top-level domains.6 The HKNIC will refer applications for third level domain names under .gov.hk to the Information

Technology Services Department for comment before an assignment is made.

- 4 -

11. The HKNIC normally receives applications for domain namesvia Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to ensure that the essential technicalservices for the end-users are catered for. Only organisations registeredwith a public registry in Hong Kong (e.g. a company/business registeredwith the Companies Registry, an educational institution registered withthe Education Department, etc.) are eligible for application. Eachorganisation may register only one domain name and registration byindividuals is not allowed.

12. Currently, the HKNIC registers .hk domain names on a firstcome, first served basis. Before approving a domain name registrationapplication, the HKNIC will only check that the application is made by acompany or an entity from the relevant category and that the domainname has not been registered before. It does not screen the domain namesbeing applied for to determine whether they may infringe upon the rightsof a third party. In case there is a dispute related to the use of thetrademark or service mark of a third party, the HKNIC will request thedomain name owner to provide evidence of ownership of the trademarkor service mark. Under HKNIC's dispute resolution policy, the authorityfor resolving disputes on the use of domain names rests with the courts ofHong Kong. There is no established mechanism for invoking analternative dispute resolution procedure (e.g. mediation or arbitration) toresolve disputes concerning domain name registration in Hong Kong.

13. There is a wide recognition for the pioneering work carried outby the JUCC on the administration of Internet domain names in HongKong. However, with the rapid development of the Internet andelectronic commerce locally, there are views as to whether the JUCC isable to adequately represent the interests of different sectors in HongKong in carrying out this function. There are suggestions that greaterflexibility should be allowed in the domain name registration system inHong Kong to facilitate the development of the Internet and electroniccommerce locally.

- 5 -

Allocation of IP addresses

14. In the area of IP address space allocation, the IANA/ICANN isresponsible for allocating blocks of IP addresses to all users via the threeregional IP registries (i.e. the American Registry for Internet Numbers(ARIN) in North America, Réseaux IP Européens (RIPE) in Europe andthe Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC) in the Asia PacificRegion). National IP registries and local IP registries (which aregenerally ISPs) apply for a subset of the IP addresses allocated by theIANA to the regional IP registries, which in turn distribute this subset ofIP addresses to smaller ISPs and the end-users. This arrangement isillustrated by the following diagram –

15. At present, the HKNIC is not involved in the allocation of IPaddresses. The Hong Kong members of the APNIC, which are mainlyISPs, obtain IP addresses directly from the APNIC and distribute them tosmaller ISPs and the end-users in Hong Kong.

IANA

ARIN RIPE NCC APNIC Process Process(Possible future Regional Internet Registries)

NIR

LIR LIR

ISP ISP ISP

EU EU EU EU EU EU

National Internet Registries

Local Internet Registries

Internet Service Providers

End-users

Source: Asia Pacific Network Information Centre

- 6 -

Chinese domain names

16. In December 1999, i-DNS.net International, a Singapore-basedcompany, announced its capability to register multi-lingual domainnames on the Internet. Two Hong Kong companies partnered with i-DNS.net International in January 2000 to offer generic top-level Chinesedomain name registration service for .公司, .組織 and .網絡. As the

multi-lingual domain name system maintained by i-DNS.netInternational is not implemented on a global and international basis, onlythose Internet subscribers of ISP partners of i-DNS.net International areable to access Internet sites registered with Chinese domain names.

17. In a separate development, the China Internet NetworkInformation Centre (CNNIC) launched a test-bed project in January 2000for a period of six months on the registration of Chinese domain namesending with the country-code top-level domain .㆗國 . The TaiwanNetwork Information Centre (TWNIC) also offered similar services as atest-bed for six months starting from May 2000. Both services operate ona different basis from that of i-DNS.net. In May 2000, a Chinese DomainNames Consortium was formed by the CNNIC, TWNIC, HKNIC and theNetwork Information Centre of Macau to coordinate the administrationand technical development of Chinese domain names, and to facilitateliaison and cooperation with the ICANN.

18. Based on the developments to date, the operation of Chinesedomain names is still at an experimental stage. Whether it will gain wideacceptance in the global Internet community and whether a singleinternational standard will emerge remain to be seen.

Review on the administration and assignment of Internet domainnames and IP addresses in Hong Kong

19. In view of the foregoing and having regard to the initiatives anddirections set by the ICANN, a Task Force was set up under theInformation Infrastructure Advisory Committee7 (IIAC) in October 1999to review the administration and assignment of Internet domain names

7 The Information Infrastructure Advisory Committee (IIAC) was established in August 1998 to

advise Government on the ways and means to promote the development of Hong Kong into aleading digital city. It is chaired by the Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting,with members drawn from a wide cross-section of the industry, businesses and academia.

- 7 -

and IP addresses in Hong Kong with a view to recommending aframework of arrangements which best suits Hong Kong's needs. Theterms of reference of the Task Force are at Annex A. Its membership is atAnnex B. Having regard to overseas practices8 and the latestdevelopments in the ICANN (a summary table on the organisation andpractices of the surveyed network information centres and the ICANN isat Annex C), the Task Force has drawn up a list of proposals and hassubmitted them to the IIAC for examination in May 2000. The IIAC hasendorsed the publication of these proposals, which are set out in thefollowing paragraphs, for public consultation.

Proposed Institutional Arrangements

Policy-making and administrative function relating to Internet domainnames

20. To address the views set out in paragraph 13 above, the TaskForce is of the view that the future policy-making and administrativebody in the administration and assignment of Internet domain names andIP addresses should have a wide representation from different sectors ofthe community. The Task Force has examined several possible optionswith reference to current overseas practices, i.e. maintaining the statusquo, adopting a Government-led model or a non-profit making andmembership-based model. The Task Force considers that the first twooptions may not be able to meet the call for greater participation by theindustry while the last option is widely adopted overseas. The TaskForce is, therefore, of the view that a new non-profit making body, withmembership open on a subscription basis to ISPs, the commercial sector,academia, the Government as well as other organisations and individualswith an interest in the development of the Internet, should be set up toassume the overall responsibility for Internet domain nameadministration in Hong Kong.

21. There are two possible options to establish this new policy-making and administrative body, namely, setting up a dedicated statutory

8 In conducting the review, the Task Force has made reference to the practices of eight other

economies. They are Australia, Singapore, Japan, the United Kingdom, the Mainland of China,Taiwan, Canada and Finland.

- 8 -

body for the purpose or establishing a non-statutory corporation withsupport from the Government through some form of "endorsement".

22. A statutory body is a legal person. As a statutory body, theidentity, authority and functions of the proposed policy-making andadministrative body will be clearly defined under law. It will have a veryclear mandate to exercise its functions and to represent Hong Kong in theinternational Internet community. Provisions can also be built into thelegislation establishing the statutory body to deal with issues such as thelegal liabilities of the body arising from the infringement of intellectualproperty rights.

23. However, the shortcoming of this approach is that theestablishment of a statutory body will take time and may not be able tomeet the requirement to establish a body quickly to take over the work ofthe JUCC. Moreover, there is also a concern that the statutory bodyarrangement may be too rigid to cope with the rapid development in theInternet world.

24. Alternatively, a non-statutory set up in the form of a non-profitmaking corporation has the advantages of flexibility. It can also be set upquickly. As the Internet has now become business and community-driven,an industry-led and self-regulatory corporation may be a more responsiveinstitutional arrangement.

25. While the status of a corporation without formal legal backingmay be less prominent and there may not be a clear mandate for it toexercise the designated functions and to represent Hong Kong in theinternational Internet community, these concerns can be addressedthrough some form of "endorsement" from the Government like anagreement between the Government and the corporation. Thearrangement can also formalise the relationship between the Governmentand the policy-making and administrative body.

26. The Task Force is, therefore, of the view that the new policy-making and administrative body should be in the form of a non-statutorycorporation. The option of a statutory body can be further considered at alater stage in the light of operational experience.

- 9 -

27. If a non-statutory and non-profit making corporation is to be setup, another issue which needs to be addressed is which party will take thelead in establishing the corporation. The Government should facilitate itsformation but the lead, however, should be taken by the industry and theacademia. One possible option which can be explored is to build upon theexisting structure, e.g. whether it is appropriate for the JUCC to be"transformed" into the new policy-making and administrative body. WithJUCC's experience in administering .hk domain names, the Task Force isof the view that building upon it may be the most expedient and effectiveway to set up the policy-making and administrative body.

28. The Task Force is also of the view that a Board of Directorsshould be appointed to exercise the policy-making function. To provideinput pertaining to public policies, the Government should be representedon the Board of Directors. To facilitate the expedient and effectiveestablishment of the new policy-making and administrative body, theJUCC may be asked to consider spinning off another company with aninterim Board comprising directors from the academia, the industry andthe Government. This new company will then gradually transform intothe proposed membership-based body with its directors elected from itsmembers, with membership open on a subscription basis to ISPs, thecommercial sector, academia, the Government as well as otherorganisations and individuals with an interest in the development of theInternet. The Government should continue to be represented on theBoard of Directors on a permanent basis to provide input pertaining topublic policies. This policy-making and administrative body will operateon a self-financing basis and may derive its income from fees collectedfrom its members and domain name registration.

Policy-making function relating to IP addresses

29. As mentioned in paragraph 15 above, the HKNIC is not involvedin the allocation and distribution of IP addresses. This approach is widelyadopted by most network information centres overseas as they do not seeany value-added benefit in assuming an intermediary role in the IPaddresses distribution process. The existing procedures for the allocationof IP addresses from the APNIC to Hong Kong have been operatingsmoothly and are well received by the ISPs and other relatedorganisations in Hong Kong. The Task Force is of the view that these

- 10 -

arrangements should continue. Nevertheless, if there are policy issuesconcerning IP addresses which may arise in the international arena infuture and which may have implications to Hong Kong, the policy-making and administrative body responsible for domain namesadministration should be involved.

Administrator of the ccTLD registry

30. For easy management and to avoid overlap in the assignment ofdomain names, there is normally a single ccTLD registry for all thedomain names allocated within the same local community. In mostplaces, the body responsible for policy-making for the ccTLD assigns themanagement of the ccTLD registry to an organisation or a subsidiarybody with the necessary technical expertise to carry out the task. TheTask Force is of the view that the existing arrangement for a singleregistry in Hong Kong should continue. The proposed policy-making andadministrative body may decide whether or not the management of theregistry should be outsourced or performed in-house.

Registrar and agents

31. Currently, the Computer Services Centre of the CUHK is theonly registrar for .hk domain names in Hong Kong. While it is generallyagreed that competition and private sector involvement in the localdomain name registration business would be desirable, there is a need fora consistent registration policy to be applied if multiple registrars areallowed. Moreover, in view of the comparatively small population inHong Kong, the number of domain names ending with .hk may not bevery large and the market may not be able to accommodate severalregistrars at the same time, at least initially. Furthermore, theadministrative burden on the policy-making and administrative body toensure compliance by multiple registrars with the standard registrationpolicy may become unduly heavy.

32. Against the above background, a number of possibleimprovements to the existing arrangements have been identified.Currently, the HKNIC will refer applications for third level domainnames under .gov.hk to the Information Technology Services Department

- 11 -

for advice before making an assignment. To streamline this procedure,the Task Force is of the view that the Government should take over theregistrar responsibility of the .gov.hk domain. Separately, the JUCC,which currently manages the registration and assignment of Internetdomain names in Hong Kong under .hk, has expressed an interest incontinuing to provide registration services for the .edu.hk domain9 infuture. The Task Force is of the view that JUCC's role in this respectshould continue if the public generally supports the approach.

33. As regards domain names ending with .com.hk, .org.hkand .net.hk, the Task Force is of the view that initially we shouldmaintain the existing practice of having a single registrar. However, theregistrar may engage agents (such as ISPs) to perform some of the routineregistration work (e.g. preliminary checking of registration details). Theregistrar will need to sign an agreement with its agents to ensure that thelatter will adhere to the same set of registration practices and proceduresas required by the registrar. The registrar may offer benefits in the formof volume discounts, etc. to its agents. We should review the need formultiple registrars at a later stage in the light of operational experience.

Domain Name Registration for .hk Domain Names

The guiding principles

34. The Task Force is of the view that appropriate registrationpolicies should be drawn up to strike a balance between encouraging thedevelopment of electronic commerce in Hong Kong and guarding againstcybersquatting. A number of guiding principles have been identified asof critical importance for the registration of domain names endingwith .hk. They are -

(a) the ccTLD ".hk" is a public resource of the HKSAR and as suchshould be administered in a way that would maximise thebenefits to the local community;

9 At present, tertiary institutions in Hong Kong, educational institutions registered with the

Education Department and other educational bodies such as the University Grants Committee canapply to register under the .edu.hk domain.

- 12 -

(b) the structure of .hk domain names (e.g. the character setallowed for a domain name, the maximum number ofcharacters in a domain name, etc.) should adhere tointernational standards so that domain names ending with .hkcan be used globally;

(c) registration of .hk domain names should be on a need basis andthe domain names are not for trading;

(d) the application procedures should be simple to allow efficientprocessing;

(e) domain names applicants should avoid infringing upon theintellectual property rights of a third party; and

(f) domain name registrants are responsible for any legal liabilitiesarising from the use of .hk domain names and should complywith the prevailing dispute resolution policy adopted by theresponsible authority.

35. In the light of the above guiding principles, some broadregistration and dispute resolution guidelines have been formulated toserve as a reference for the new policy-making and administrative bodyresponsible for the administration of .hk domain names in drawing up thedetailed registration policies for .hk domain names. These guidelines areset out below for public comment.

Registration guidelines for .hk domain names

(a) Reserved list

36. Some of the network information centres of the surveyedeconomies, such as the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA)of Canada and the CNNIC of the Mainland of China, have adopted areserved list of well-known names, country names, trademark names, etc.to minimise the chance of cybersquatting. These lists are maintained and

- 13 -

approved by the appropriate authorities of the ccTLD administration.

37. Having regard to overseas practices and the latest developmentsin the ICANN in tackling cybersquatting of prestigious internationalnames, the Task Force is of the view that the registration authority inHong Kong may draw up a reserved list of well-known internationaltrademarks, service marks and brand names and make it available forpublic reference on the Internet. In drawing up this list, reference couldbe made to the reserved lists prepared by other ccTLD registrationauthorities. Apart from well-known international names, considerationmay be given to reserving also the following -

(a) all second-level domains under .hk and all gTLDs (e.g.com.com.hk) in order to avoid confusion. This is the practiceof some of the surveyed economies, e.g. the United Kingdom,Canada and Taiwan;

(b) all 2-character and 3-character country codes (e.g. hk.com.hkand chn.com.hk) as defined in ISO 3166; and

(c) in relation to domain names to be registered under .gov.hk,words which consist of or contain a reference to the word"Government" or related wordings and such use is likely toconnote that the web site carries the authority of theGovernment.

As a general principle to protect Internet domain names from indecency,words which are obscene, scandalous, indecent, and contrary to law ormorality should not be registered. While it may not be possible to drawup an exhaustive list of such words, domain name applications should beassessed on a case by case basis.

(b) Format and business nature of a domain name

38. The current practice of the HKNIC allows the registration of adomain name bearing no similarity to the corresponding company name.

- 14 -

This allows flexibility but may encourage cybersquatting. In some of thesurveyed economies, e.g. Australia and Canada, there is a requirementthat a requested domain name must resemble the name of the company orits products/services, the rationale being that a domain name is primarilyintended to provide a clear and convenient Internet address to facilitateaccess to a web site of the concerned company or its services/products.Such an arrangement also helps to minimise cybersquatting.

39. The Task Force is of the view that in the case of Hong Kong, thesecond-level domain category being selected for a particular domainname application (i.e. .com.hk, .org.hk, .net.hk, .edu.hk and .gov.hk)should similarly correspond to the business nature of the applicant withdocumentary proof from the relevant registry in Hong Kong asappropriate.

(c) "First come, first served" principle

40. Most domain name registrars worldwide adopt the "first come,first served" principle in their registration process. The domain nameregistrar will check that the requested domain name has not beenpreviously registered, but it will not determine whether the requestedname infringes upon the right of a third party, for example, the rightspertaining to registered and unregistered trademarks.

41. For unregistered marks, they are protected by passing-off actionthrough the operation of the common law. As regards registeredtrademarks, the domain name registrar could in theory conduct a searchfor identical or similar marks in the Trade Marks Registry, which in HongKong is maintained by the Intellectual Property Department. However, itis envisaged that the following difficulties will arise -

(a) if the registrar assumes the duty to check the Trade MarksRegistry, it may become legally liable to the domain nameapplicant and/or the relevant trademark owner for any errors oromissions in the process;

(b) for a domain name holder to infringe upon the rights of a

- 15 -

trademark owner, it has to be proven that the registered domainname is identical or confusingly similar to a registeredtrademark. However, registered marks and domain names havequite different representations: the former are represented eithergraphically or textually while the latter are in textual form.Moreover, the determination of whether a requested domainname is confusingly similar to a registered mark is a highlytechnical matter involving complicated issues of law;

(c) as goods and services in respect of which marks can beregistered are divided into 42 classes in Hong Kong, the samemark could be registered in different classes whereas a domainname is unique in nature; and

(d) if trademark searches are to be performed on the 42 classes ofregistered marks in Hong Kong, the registration process willinevitably be prolonged. Moreover, the searching cost incurredby the registrar will most probably be transferred to theapplicant.

42. In view of the above difficulties and the proposal to adopt areserved list which would help to discourage cybersquatting, the TaskForce is of the view that domain names should be registered on a "firstcome, first served" basis and that the registrar should not assume theresponsibility for checking whether a domain name being applied for mayinfringe the rights of a third party. To reaffirm the principle that thedomain name applicant bears all legal liabilities arising from the use of aparticular .hk domain name, the Task Force is of the view that theapplicant should be asked to declare when making an application that toits best knowledge, the domain name applied for does not infringe uponthe intellectual property rights of a third party.

(d) Multiple domain names per registrant organisation

43. Under the current registration policy, a company is allowed toapply for only one domain name. This policy is considered too restrictiveas it prevents businesses from obtaining additional names to market their

- 16 -

products or services. Experience in other places shows that a restrictiveregistration policy will encourage registration of domain names under thegTLD instead of the ccTLD. The Task Force is of the view that eachorganisation should be allowed to register more than one domain nameunder .hk to enable local companies to use different .hk domain names fortheir products and services.

(e) Transferability of domain names

44. Under the current policy of the HKNIC, domain names cannot betransferred from one company to another. This policy is also consideredtoo restrictive as there are many valid reasons for the transfer of a domainname, particularly when registration of products and services names areallowed. The Task Force is of the view that the transfer of domainnames on valid grounds (e.g. the ownership or distribution right of acompany, its products or services has been transferred) should inprinciple be allowed.

(f) Local presence

45. As the cyberspace has no geographical boundaries, considerationmay be given to opening up the registration of domain names under .hk tointerested parties outside Hong Kong (e.g. in the United Kingdom, bothlocal and foreign companies are eligible to register under the .co.ukdomain). Such a policy would attract more domain name registrationsunder .hk. On the other hand, ".hk" is a public resource of Hong Kong. Italso denotes a geographical association. The network informationcentres of most surveyed economies allow only local companies ormultinational organisations with a local presence to register a domainname under their ccTLDs. On balance, the Task Force is of the viewthat initially only companies and organisations registered or incorporatedin Hong Kong should be allowed to register domain names endingwith .hk. The policy-making and administrative body should review thisrestriction in the light of operational experience and the development ofthe Internet both globally and in Hong Kong.

- 17 -

(g) Domain names for individuals

46. It is noted that the network information centres of Taiwan andSingapore have both introduced domain names for individuals recently.Australia also allows registration by individuals. The Task Force is ofthe view that individual residents of Hong Kong should be allowed toregister domain names in a new second-level domain category under .hk.Domain names for individuals should be derived directly from the namesappearing on their Hong Kong identity cards. It would also need to beconsidered further by the policy-making and administrative body as tohow identical domain names for individuals ought to be differentiated.For simplicity and easy management, each individual resident should beallowed to register only one domain name under this category.

(h) Renewal of domain names

47. .hk domain names are a public resource of Hong Kong. Weshould ensure that they are used to the greatest benefit for the localcommunity and are used by those with a genuine purpose. Domain nameswhich are no longer required for their original purpose should be madeavailable for registration by others. The Task Force is of the view thatall .hk domain names should be subject to renewal and that renewal feesshould be charged to cover the administrative cost involved and to enablethe registration authority to operate on a self-financing basis. Charging arenewal fee is the current practice in most of the surveyed networkinformation centres.

Dispute Resolution for .hk Domain Names

Dispute resolution guidelines

(a) Registration authority to maintain a neutral role

48. It is a common practice in the surveyed economies that theirnetwork information centres would not be involved directly in thehandling of disputes arising from the registration or use of domain names.

- 18 -

This arrangement would maintain the policy-making and administrativebody's position as a neutral organisation when a dispute arises.

(b) Alternative dispute resolution mechanism

49. To facilitate early resolution of domain name disputes, oneoption is to establish a tribunal specifically for the purpose. However,having regard to the small number of domain name disputes at present(less than one case a month on average according to the latest statistics),the establishment of a tribunal may not be cost-effective. Another optionis to follow ICANN's alternative dispute resolution procedure forhandling disputes which involve domain names that are shown to havebeen registered in abusive attempts to profit from others' trademarks (i.e.cybersquatting). The ICANN has engaged the World IntellectualProperty Organisation (WIPO) and three other service providers toprovide a dispute resolution service for .com, .org and .net gTLDs. In thelight of this, the Task Force is of the view that we may consider a similararrangement as set out below -

(a) the registration authority may appoint organisations whichprovide arbitration and mediation services (whether local oroverseas) to act as domain name dispute resolution serviceproviders. The registration authority and the dispute resolutionservice providers will agree on a stipulated service level (e.g.turn-around time, availability of qualified panelists to serve thearbitration panels, factors to be taken into consideration indeciding disputes, etc).

(b) the dispute resolution procedure will be invoked if the claimantis able to produce the following evidence to one of the serviceproviders -

(i) the registered domain name is identical or confusinglysimilar to a trademark or service mark to which theclaimant has rights;

(ii) the registrant has no rights or legitimate interests in respect

- 19 -

of the domain name; and

(iii) the registered domain name is being used in bad faith.

(c) The dispute will be handled by an independent arbitration panelprovided by the dispute resolution service provider. Theregistration authority and the registrar will not be involved inthe arbitration process.

(d) The arbitration panel will inform the disputed parties once adecision has been made. In the event that the registrant loses, anappeal against the decision may be made to the courts in HongKong within a specified period. If no appeal is made within thestipulated period, the domain name of the registrant will bedeleted from the domain name database.

(e) The domain name registrar receiving complaints againstdomain name will take no action until it receives instructionsfrom the registrant or an order of a court or a dispute resolutionservice provider handling the concerned dispute. This balancesthe registrant's needs and the claimant's intellectual propertyrights.

(f) Notwithstanding the establishment of an alternative disputeresolution procedure as set out in (a) – (e) above, partiesinvolved in domain name disputes may go to the court toresolve their dispute before the alternative dispute resolutionprocedure commences or to contest the result of the disputeresolution.

Summary

50. In summary, the Task Force has set out its views in thisConsultation Paper on the administration and assignment of Internetdomain names and Internet protocol address in Hong Kong as follows -

(a) a non-profit making and non-statutory corporation should be set

- 20 -

up to assume the overall responsibility for Internet domainname administration in Hong Kong;

(b) the corporation should operate on a self-financing basis;

(c) the corporation should be spun off from the JUCC initially, withan interim Board comprising directors from the academia, theindustry and the Government;

(d) the corporation should gradually transform into a membership-based organisation with its directors elected from its members;

(e) the authority of the corporation should be formalised throughsome form of "endorsement" from the Government, e.g. anagreement with the Government;

(f) the existing arrangements for IP address allocation in HongKong should continue;

(g) the existing arrangements for a single domain name registry inHong Kong, with duties assigned by the body responsiblefor .hk domain name administration, should continue;

(h) the Government should take over the registrar responsibility inrespect of the .gov.hk domain;

(i) the JUCC should continue to provide registration services inrespect of the .edu.hk domain;

(j) the existing practice of having a single registrar for domainnames ending with .com.hk, .org.hk and .net.hk shouldcontinue;

(k) the registrar responsible for .com.hk, .org.hk and .net.hkdomain names may engage agents to perform some of theroutine registration work;

(l) a reserved list of domain names consisting of well-knowninternational trademarks, service marks and brand names as

- 21 -

well as some other names which are of restricted use, makingreference to the reserved lists prepared by other ccTLDregistration authorities, may be drawn up;

(m) the second-level domain category being selected for a particulardomain name application should correspond to the businessnature of the applicant;

(n) domain names should be registered on a "first come, firstserved" basis;

(o) the domain name applicant should declare, when making anapplication, that to its best knowledge, the domain nameapplied for does not infringe upon the intellectual propertyrights of a third party;

(p) each organisation should be allowed to register more than onedomain name under .hk;

(q) the transfer of domain names on valid grounds should beallowed;

(r) only companies and organisations registered or incorporated inHong Kong should be allowed to register domain names endingwith .hk initially;

(s) each individual resident of Hong Kong should be allowed toregister one domain name in a new second-level domaincategory under .hk;

(t) domain names should be subject to renewal at a fee;

(u) the body responsible for .hk domain name administrationshould maintain a neutral role in the handling of disputes arisingfrom the registration or use of domain names ending with .hk;and

- 22 -

(v) an alternative dispute resolution mechanism should bedeveloped in Hong Kong to facilitate early resolution of .hkdomain name disputes.

Consultation period and means for submitting comments

51. Comments on this Consultation Paper should be sent to theInformation Technology Services Department by 16 July 2000 through –

Post Information Technology Services Department(Attn: Senior Systems Manager (E)22)8/F, Shui On Centre6-8 Harbour RoadWanchaiHong Kong

Fax (852) 2189 2525E-mail [email protected]

52. The Government intends to make public all or parts of anysubmissions made in response to this Consultation Paper, unless there is aspecific request to treat all or part of a response in confidence. If no suchrequest is made, the Government will assume that the response is notintended to be confidential.

Information Technology and Broadcasting BureauJune 2000

Annex A

Task Force on the Review on Administration and Assignment ofInternet Domain Names and Internet Protocol Addresses in Hong

Kong

Terms of Reference

(a) to review the existing policy and arrangements related to theadministration of the country-code top level domain (ccTLD) ofHong Kong, i.e. .hk;

(b) to review the existing policy and arrangements related to theadministration of Internet protocol addresses used by thecommunity of Hong Kong;

(c) to review the existing system and procedures for assigning andmanaging Internet domain names and Internet protocol addressesin Hong Kong; and

(d) to make recommendations on how the existing arrangements andprocedures can be improved to the best advantage of the HongKong community having regard to international and regionaldevelopments.

Annex B

INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE ADVISORY COMMITTEE

TASK FORCE ON THE REVIEW ON ADMINISTRATION AND

ASSIGNMENT OF INTERNET DOMAIN NAMES AND

INTERNET PROTOCOL ADDRESSES IN HONG KONG

Membership List

Chairman

Professor Charles Kao

Deputy Chairman

Mrs Jessie Ting (up to 24 April 2000)

Mr Alan Siu (from 25 April 2000)

Deputy Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting

Members

Professor Francis Chin,

Professor, Department of Computer Science, HKU

Dr N Ng,

Director, the Joint Universities Computer Centre

Mr Cheng Che-hoo,

Chairman, the Hong Kong Network Information Centre

Mr Charles Mok,

Chairman, the Internet Service Providers Association

- 2 -

Mr Adrian Watt,

Member, the Internet Service Providers Association

Mr Victor Hung,

Chief Trade Practices Officer, the Consumer Council

Dr Y S Cheung,

Assistant Director for Operations, the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce

Mr Joseph Yu,

Committee Member, the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce

Mr Anthony Au,

President, the Hong Kong Information Technology Federation

Mr Simon Chan,

Chairman, the Hong Kong Telecommunications Users Group

Mr K H Lau,

Director of Information Technology Services

Mr Lawrence Kwan,

Chief Telecommunications Engineer, Office of the Telecommunications Authority

Mr Peter Cheung,

Deputy Director of Intellectual Property

Secretary

Mr Victor Lam,

Senior Systems Manager, Information Technology Services Department

Annex C

Comparison Table on the Organisation and Practices of Network Information Centres

ICANN10 SingaporeNetwork

InformationCentre

(SGNIC)

.au DomainAdministration

(auDA) of Australia

JapanNetwork

InformationCentre

(JPNIC)

Nominet UK China InternetNetwork

InformationCentre (CNNIC)

Taiwan NetworkInformation Centre

(TWNIC)

Canadian InternetRegistration

Authority (CIRA)

Telecom-munications

AdministrationCentre (TAC) of

Finland

Hong KongNetwork

InformationCentre

(HKNIC)

History Set up in 1998 afterinstitutional review.

Set up in 1995. Set up in 1999 afterinstitutional review.

Set up in 1993. Set up in 1996. Set up in 1997. Set up in 1994. Set up in 1998 afterinstitutional review.

Set up in 1997. Set up in 1990.

Type of Entity ICANN is a non-profit makingorganisation formedfrom the globalInternet community

SGNIC wasestablished as anot-for-profitorganisation. It isa wholly ownedsubsidiary of theInfocommDevelopmentAuthority of theGovernment ofSingapore.

auDA is a self-fundingand not-for-profitorganisation. Theformation of auDAwas facilitated by theNational Office for theInformation Economyof the AustralianGovernment.

JPNIC is anon-profitassociation. Itwasincorporated asa governmentauthorizedassociation inMarch 1997.

Nominet UK is anon-profitcompany limitedby guarantee.

CNNIC is a whollyowned subsidiary ofthe Government ofthe People'sRepublic of China.It is a non-profitorganisation.

TWNIC is a non-profitorganisation funded bythe Ministry ofTransportation andCommunications andthe Computer Society ofTaiwan.

CIRA is anon-profit privatecorporation withGovernmentendorsement.

TAC is an agencyunder the Ministryof Transport andCommunications(MTC).

HKNIC is anon-profitmakingorganisationunder theadministrationof the JointUniversitiesComputerCentre (JUCC).

10 ICANN is responsible for the international governance of the systems and protocols that keep the Internet going. As such, it is not directly comparable to the local NICs included

in this table.

- 2 -


InformationCentre

(SGNIC)


(auDA) of Australia

JapanNetwork

InformationCentre

(JPNIC)




(TWNIC)


Authority (CIRA)

Telecom-munications


Finland

Hong KongNetwork

InformationCentre

(HKNIC)

Governance Board of Directorselected from thethree SupportingOrganisations andthe At-largeMembership,together with an exofficio ChiefExecutive Officer.

Board of Directorsconsisting ofgovernmentofficials andrepresentativesfrom the threelicensed ISPs.Governmentofficial serves aschair.

12 Directors electedfrom the members: 3 persons elected

by the SupplyClass Members;

3 persons electedby the DemandClass Members;

3 persons electedby theRepresentativeAssociation ClassMembers;

2 persons electedby the Membersvoting together as awhole;

The CEO of auDAas a non-votingmember of theboard.

Managed by theBoard ofTrustees.Fifteen-member Boardof Trusteeselected fromand by themembership.Board appointschair from itsown members.Twenty-membersteeringcommitteeappointed bythe Board ofTrustees.Committeeappoints chairfrom its ownmembers.

Steeringcommitteeelected from andby themembership.Board of non-executivedirectorsappointed to six-member councilof managementby steeringcommittee.Fifteen-memberpolicy advisoryboard, partlyelected bymembership andpartly appointedby council.Advisory boardchair appointedfrom its ownmembers.

The housekeepingresponsibility ofCNNIC isundertaken by theChinese Academyof Science. As forits businessfunctions, CNNICis under theleadership of theMinistry ofInformationIndustry.

TWNIC is run under asteering committeecomposed of 24commissarsrepresenting theindustry, government,computer societies, andacademia.

Ten directorselected by membersserving staggeredtwo-year terms. Nomaximum numberof terms. Onedirector appointedby the board aschair. Governmenthas permanent,non-voting,ex officio seat onboard.

The boardmembers areappointed by theMTC for threeyears at a time.

Board ofManagement ofthe JUCC.

- 3 -


InformationCentre

(SGNIC)


(auDA) of Australia

JapanNetwork

InformationCentre

(JPNIC)




(TWNIC)


Authority (CIRA)

Telecom-munications


Finland

Hong KongNetwork

InformationCentre

(HKNIC)

Membership The At-Largemembership is openworldwide.

No membership. 3 classes of membersfrom the Internetcommunity: Supply: Any Legal

Person that is aRegistryAdministrator or isengaged in theprovision ofdomain nameswithin .au as amajor or regularbusiness activity.

Demand: AnyLegal Person thatdoes not qualify forSupply Classmembership mayapply to be aDemand ClassMember.

RepresentativeAssociations: anyassociation havingat least 100members, orrepresenting atleast 30organisations

Members aremostly withknowledge andexperience oncomputernetworkingoperations.

Openmembership. Nomembershipcategories.

No membership. Members include non-profit makingorganisations, ISPs,commercial companies,government offices,universities andresearch organisations.

Every domain nameholderautomaticallyqualifies formembership.Members elect theboard on an annualbasis. Nomembershipcategories.

No membership. Nomembership.

- 4 -


InformationCentre

(SGNIC)


(auDA) of Australia

JapanNetwork

InformationCentre

(JPNIC)




(TWNIC)


Authority (CIRA)

Telecom-munications


Finland

Hong KongNetwork

InformationCentre

(HKNIC)

Sources ofIncome

Fees collected from –Registry (outsourcedto NetworkSolutions, Inc.(NSI));Registrars;ccTLD Registries

Fees collectedfrom –End-users

Fees collected from –Members;Registrars (underdiscussion)

Fees collectedfrom –Members;Registrars (perdomain nameregistration);End-users

Fees collectedfrom –Members;Registrars (perdomain nameregistration);End-users

Fees collectedfrom –End-usersRegistrars (whichcollect registrationfees from end-userson behalf of theNIC)

Fees collected from –Registrars (whichcollect registration feesfrom end-users onbehalf of the NIC)

Fees collectedfrom –Registrars (whenthe registrationscheme is open forprivate sectorparticipation asregistrars).



Registry Outsourced to NSI. An operation ofSGNIC.

Differentorganisations fordifferent second leveldomains.

An operation ofJPNIC.

An operation ofNominet UK.

An operation ofCNNIC.

An operation ofTWNIC.

An operation ofCIRA.

An operation ofTAC.

Assigned by theJUCC to theComputerServices Centreof the ChineseUniversity ofHong Kong.

- 5 -


InformationCentre

(SGNIC)


(auDA) of Australia

JapanNetwork

InformationCentre

(JPNIC)




(TWNIC)


Authority (CIRA)

Telecom-munications


Finland

Hong KongNetwork

InformationCentre

(HKNIC)

Registrar Accredited registrarsall over the world.

SGNIC(Single registrar,no designatedagent)

Differentorganisations/ personsfor different secondlevel domains.

JPNIC.Application canbe made toJPNIC direct orthrough its ISPmembers.

Nominet UK.Application canbe made toNominet UKdirect or throughits ISP members.

CNNIC throughauthorised agents.

TANet (an ISP) is incharge of .edu.twand .gov.tw.HiNet and SEEDNet(ISPs) are in charge ofcommercial users. Thethree ISPs act ashandling organisationsto provide registrarservice. Commercialapplication can be madeto HiNet and SEEDNetdirect or via other ISPswho are members ofTWNIC to HiNet andSEEDNet.

CIRA for an initialperiod of around 1year and will beopen to otherregistrarsafterwards.

TAC(Single registrar,no designatedagent)

HKNIC(Singleregistrar, nodesignatedagent)

Responsiblefor IPaddressesallocationpolicies andprocedures

No No No Yes No No Yes No No No

- 6 -


InformationCentre

(SGNIC)


(auDA) of Australia

JapanNetwork

InformationCentre

(JPNIC)




(TWNIC)


Authority (CIRA)

Telecom-munications


Finland

Hong KongNetwork

InformationCentre

(HKNIC)

Domain namestructure

The five mostcommon domains(i.e. .com, .org,.net, .edu and .gov),.int for organisationsestablished byinternational treaties,or internationaldatabases,.mil for the USmilitary.

The five mostcommondomains, .per.sgfor individuals anda .sch.edu.sg thirdlevel domain forschools.

The five mostcommon domains,.id.au for individuals,.info.au forinformationalresources,.asn.au forassociations,.conf.au forconferences and a fewother specific domainsfor Australia.

The five mostcommondomains withsome variationsin thenomenclature,geographicaldomains(e.g. .tokyo.jp)and a few otherspecificdomains forJapan.

The five mostcommondomains withsome variationsin thenomenclature,.ltd.uk for UKlimitedcompanies,.plc.uk for UKpublic limitedcompanies,.sch.uk for UKschools and afew otherspecific domainsfor the UK.

The five mostcommon domains,.ac.cn for scientificresearchinstitutions, andgeographicaldomains(e.g. .bj.cn).

The five most commondomains, .idv.tw forindividuals and.mil.tw for use by theMinistry of NationalDefense.

Structuredaccording topolitical geographywith entitiesregistered atappropriate level -l. nationalorganisation (e.g.xyz.ca)2. local/provincialorganisation (e.g.xyz.on.ca)3. residential/municipalorganisation (e.g.xyz.toronto.on.ca).

No predefinedsecond leveldomains.

The five mostcommondomains.

- 7 -


InformationCentre

(SGNIC)


(auDA) of Australia

JapanNetwork

InformationCentre

(JPNIC)




(TWNIC)


Authority (CIRA)

Telecom-munications


Finland

Hong KongNetwork

InformationCentre

(HKNIC)

Allow multipledomain namesfor anapplicant

No restriction. Allow multipledomain namesapplications for anapplicant, butone-offregistration fee ismore expensive(S$120) foradditional name(s)applied (S$60 for1st domain name).

One domain name foreach registered name.

One domainname perorganisation.

1. No limitationon number ofdomain namesthat may beapplied for theco.uk domain.2. Others : onedomain name perorganisation.

No limitation onnumber of domainnames that may beapplied under thesame registeredlicence/certificate.

One domain name perapplicant.

CIRA will not limitthe number ofdomain names aregistrant mayregister.

In most cases,registration ofmore than onedomain name forthe sameorganisation willnot be considered.

In most cases,registration ofmore than onedomain namefor the sameorganisationwill not beconsidered.

Allowregistration byindividuals

No Yes, registeredunder .per.sgstarting from 1May 2000

Yes, registeredunder .id.au

No No No Yes, registeredunder .idv.tw startingfrom 1 May 2000

Being planned No No

Allowregistrationsfrom overseas

Not applicable No No No co.uk allowsregistration ofcommercial andnon-commercialentities outsidethe UK.

No No No No No

- 8 -


InformationCentre

(SGNIC)


(auDA) of Australia

JapanNetwork

InformationCentre

(JPNIC)




(TWNIC)


Authority (CIRA)

Telecom-munications


Finland

Hong KongNetwork

InformationCentre

(HKNIC)

Reservation ofdomain namesnot allowedforregistration

No There is a list ofreserved per.sgdomain names.

Words that arerepresentativecommercial categoriesor sectors (e.g. cars,accounting, etc.)

No No Well-known namesof other countries orregions, foreignlocation names andnames ofinternationalorganisations.

No CIRA maintains alist of domainnames not availablefor registrationunder .ca. The listis regularly updatedand approved by theBoard.

No No

An alternativedisputeresolutionprocedure

Resolve by disputeresolution serviceproviders accreditedby ICANN.

No Refer the dispute to acommercial disputecentre.

JPNIC hasformed a TaskForce toformulate adisputeresolutionpolicy based onthat of ICANN.

Resolve byindependentexperts (a list ofexperts ismaintained byNominet UK).

No No CIRA has recentlyproposed an'Alternative DisputeResolution' method.Public consultationwas just conducted.

No No

Consultation Paper on the Review on Administration and Assignment

Documents

Transcript of Consultation Paper on the Review on Administration and Assignment