Virtual Countries: Internet Domain Names And Geographical Terms

Abstract

This paper examines the dispute between the Seattle company Virtual Countries Inc. and the Republic of South Africa over the ownership of the domain name address southafrica.com. Part 1 deals with the pre-emptive litigation taken by Virtual Countries Inc. in a District Court of the United States. Part 2 considers the possible arbitration of the dispute under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Process of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. It considers the wider implications of this dispute for the jurisdiction and the governance of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. Part 3 evaluates the Final Report of the Second WIPO Internet Domain Name Process.