Nominet Mulls Default Domain Name Transfers

Nominet is expected soon to announce the results of a consultation on its proposal to begin granting undefended complaints against .uk domain names by default.

Under the proposal, parties filing complaints against .uk domain names could buy a disputed domain name for £200 if the domain name holder fails to defend the action. The proposal is intended to reduce costs in undefended cases by avoiding the need for a complainant to pay the £750 expert fee in order to obtain a decision. A respondent may apply for a default transfer to be set aside if it proves that, for good reasons, it was unable to respond to the complaint. It is not clear yet what reasons would suffice, although lack of actual notice of a complaint may qualify.

Many have criticised Nominet’s proposal for not going far enough, since a complaint must still include formal grounds and evidence at filing and complainants often incur substantial legal costs for advice and assistance in the drafting of a complaint.

More attractive would be an option to file an outline complaint, to be augmented with detailed grounds and evidence if a respondent indicates an intention to defend. Costs for users would therefore centre on defended cases only. The default transfer procedure could operate in cases where no intention to defend was given.

Nominet is considering the options and is expected to publish its conclusion this spring.