Kia ora 

Words, names and language are important to many of our stakeholders, and not just for business reasons. The words in the domain name may powerfully connect with the holder’s identity. For the Commission, 2022 was all about making dispute resolution more accessible, and through that process we have vastly increased our contact with domain name holders and have learned more about them and what their domain names mean to them. It’s been a privilege.

Our work plan this year focuses on being more responsive to what our diverse stakeholders and community want and we are looking forward to 2023 with fresh eyes.

I hope you enjoy our news below, noting that there is important information in this newsletter seeking expressions of interest for additional moderators in the moderated .iwi.nz space. Also, learn more about Online Disputes Resolution offerings in 2023 below.

Updates from the team

Expressions of interest for the additional moderator roles

The .iwi.nz domain name space is for iwi Māori, Hapū and taurahere ropū to be able to identify themselves in the .nz domain name space. For the last 22 years, Dr. Karaitiana Taiuru (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Kahungunu Ngāti Toa and Tūwharetoa) has acted as moderator for this domain name space, managing requests for registrations, and assisting registrants in this space with their .nz presence, for which the Commission is extremely grateful. It is proposed that two further moderators be appointed, and a panel of moderators undertakes the moderation of the registrations of the .iwi.nz domain name space in the future.

Conflicted Domain Names — eligible registrant registrations

As a result of the implementation of the new Registry System (IRS), the process for registering resolved conflicted domain names has changed. Eligible registrants are still able to register resolved names through their registrar, despite them appearing on the block list. 

A vital requirement is that the resolved name can only be registered using details that match the registrant details used for the qualifying 3rd level domain name. Approval will not be given for registration under other details.

Expert Dispute Resolution decision 

BNP PARIBAS v XUMEI [2022] NZDNCL 1462

In BNP PARIBAS v XUMEI, the expert ordered the transfer of <bnpparibas.nz>

The complainant is an international banking group with a presence in 65 countries and had numerous trademarks including registered trademarks in New Zealand. The complainant also owned many domain names, including <bnpparidbas.co.nz> (registered since August 2000). The disputed domain name was registered in 2021 and resolves to a page where the domain name was offered for sale.

The expert found that the domain name was identical to trade marks held and found that it was held effectively as a blocking registration, making it an unfair registration under policy.

User Guides — Get an authorisation code 

Managing your .nz domain name is easier if you know the meaning of technical terms for domain names and namespaces. We have some user guides on our website to help domain holders with managing their domain names. 

Interesting news and media 

• Anti-mandate activist ordered to remove social media posts about nurse
• Long-simmering circuit split on cybersquatting heats up with new ruling
• An overview of country code top-level domains registration in Thailand
• Policing and Takedown Strategies for Rogue Websites

Feedback 

And, as always, please give us feedback via email info@dnc.org.nz or on Twitter (@nzdnc). What topics do you want to hear more about, what bullet above is your favourite? What do you want more or less of?