.FR

.FR Domain Name Registrations have recently opened to private individuals

AFNIC (Association Française pour le Nommage Internet en Coopération), the registry for the .FR and .RE country code top level domains (ccTLDs), has announced that private individuals will be able to register .FR domain names from 20 June 2006. This marks the final step in a liberalisation process that has taken several years to complete.

This change is welcomed due to the somewhat complicated current eligibility rules, and should lead to an increase in registrations under the French extension. AFNIC hopes that the liberalisation of .FR will mirror to an extent the success of the launch of the .EU TLD earlier this year.

However, the opening means that there is a clear risk that cybersquatting activity will increase. There was an increase in such activity following the previous relaxation of the registration rules in May 2004, although so far the amount of abusive registrations under .FR has remained limited. For example, whilst over 1,000 complaints were filed with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in relation to the .COM extension in 2005, a significantly lower number of cases (approximately 30) were filed in relation to .FR domain names over the same period.

The registration rules for .FR domain names from 20 June 2006

From 9 am on 20 June 2006, the registration rules for .FR will be further relaxed to include any adult with a valid French postal address.

Therefore, from that date, any member of the three following categories will be allowed to register a .FR domain name:

(i) Corporate bodies with their registered office or an establishment on French territory provided that they can be identified in one of the following official French databases: the companies database, the INSEE database, the Industrial Property Office (INPI) database, or the REFASSO database for associations;

(ii) Trade mark owners, whether private individuals or corporate bodies, provided that the trade mark in question covers French territory (i.e. any French or Community trade mark or any International Registration covering France) and can be identified through the main French trade mark database; or

(iii) Private individuals who are over 18 and have an address in France.

The online application procedure will be very simple and no actual documents will need to be produced, although AFNIC will reserve the right to ask for proof of French residency (in the case of a complaint by a third party, for example). Registrations will open in alphabetical order and be spread out over several days.

The administrative contact requirement

Despite the liberalisation of the .FR extension, AFNIC intends to maintain a rule which has been applied since 1999: the administrative contact for the domain name has to be based in France and have an effective address there.

The rationale behind this requirement is to ensure that, in the event of a dispute, any extra-judicial acts such as, for instance, court filings or decisions, can be delivered to a person connected, at least for administrative purposes, with the domain name.

In consideration of the likelihood of the increase in cybersquatting cases due to the relaxation of the registration rules, it seems sensible that this requirement will be maintained after 20 June 2006.

WHOIS information and dispute resolution for .FR domain names

Culturally, France has always valued individuals' right to privacy and, in view of France's strict data protection laws, registrants will have an option not to have their personal information appear in AFNIC's WHOIS database. However, this information will be disclosed by AFNIC if required by a judicial decision or for the administration of an alternative dispute resolution procedure. In the latter case AFNIC will disclose this information to the dispute resolution service provider along with the list of domain names registered by the respondent in the case if this is possible.

Alternative Dispute Resolution Procedures

AFNIC has therefore adopted two Alternative Dispute Resolution Procedures (Procédure Alternative de Règlement des Litiges or "PARL"). Two different bodies have been appointed to resolve disputes, the Centre de Médiation et d’Arbitrage de Paris (CMAP), which will issue a non-binding “online recommendation” and WIPO, responsible for issuing a binding “technical decision”.

As far as the first procedure is concerned, the CMAP will try to help the parties involved reach an amicable agreement. This is designed to assist parties who may both have a claim to a particular domain name, such as a licensee and licensor, in order to avoid the potential costs of litigation. Evidently the consent of both parties is required, unlike the WIPO procedure. The procedure results in a recommendation by the CMAP panelist in a very short timescale, namely within 16 days of the CMAP receiving a complaint. The recommendation is itself non-binding and confidential, and the goal is that it may be used as a basis for the parties to reach a binding agreement themselves.

The second procedure, which can either replace the first one or follow it, is to bring a complaint before WIPO, which already makes binding decisions using the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP). However the scope of the PARL rules for technical decisions is considerably wider than the UDRP in that in order to obtain the transfer of a disputed domain name a registrant has to prove that registration or use has led to infringement, not just of a trade or service mark, but of any third party right protected in France (in particular intellectual property rights, personality rights and rights in relation to unfair competition). In addition the UDRP procedure requires complainants to prove that the domain name has been registered and is being used in bad faith, but the PARL rules do not specifically mention bad faith. The decision is binding unless proceedings are brought before a competent French Court within 20 days of the decision.

Consequences of the liberalisation of .FR

It is expected that the relaxation of the registration rules for .FR domain names from 20 June 2006 will provoke a significant increase in domain name registrations, and .FR will move further up the table of the most popular European ccTLDs. It is currently in seventh place behind Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Italy, Denmark and Austria.

The 2004 modification of the registration rules has already had a significant impact on the number of .FR domain names, as this has jumped from just over 180,000 to over 450,000.

Item contributed by David Taylor