Domain Name Dispute Resolution in Mainland China and Hong Kong
The Cambridge Handbook of International and Comparative Trademark Law (Irene Calboli & Jane Ginsburg eds., Cambridge University Press, 2020)
The Chinese University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law Research Paper No. 2020-22
23 Pages Posted: 13 Oct 2020
Date Written: September 21, 2020
Abstract
Cybersquatting has become a serious problem in China and other Asian jurisdictions. In 2017, it was reported that around 10 percent of the .cn domain names were registered by cybersquatters. This chapter explores the domain name dispute resolution mechanisms in mainland China and Hong Kong by illustrating how domain name disputes associated with trademarks are resolved through the implementation of Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) and litigation in these two jurisdictions. Section I of this chapter illustrates the convergence and divergence of the civil law and common law approaches to domain name dispute resolution. Section II outlines how these two jurisdictions implement the UDRP via the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) and the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC). This section focuses particularly on the grounds for trademark owners to complain against domain names registered by other parties. Section III analyzes how parties use the court to solve domain name disputes in the two jurisdictions. Section IV probes trademark disputes and the new business models in China resulting from the introduction of new general top-level domain names (gTLDs) in 2012.
Keywords: domain name, trademark, cybersquatting, UDRP, China, Hong Kong
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