If a dispute arises over the registration of a do- main name in Ireland, the aggrieved party may rely on the law of "passing off" if it is necessary to commence legal proceedings. Passing off occurs when a person deceives members of the public and allows them to believe that his or her products are in fact those of another; it was successfully invoked in a relatively recent case, Muckross Park v Randles, which concerned hotels with similar names. It may be presumed that the same law will apply to Internet addresses. However, the main problem with Internet addresses is not that individuals might register names to which they have no legitimate claim and then demand money before they give them up to the legitimate owner. Rather, there could be several in- dividuals or companies which can make legitimate claims on the one domain name.
To the creators of a site devoted to the amenities and environment of Washington DC, dc.com seemed an eminently suitable address. However the publishers of DC comics strenuously objected. Resolving disputes such as this is very difficult
The debate on how to regulate online domain names is now in full swing on the Internet, and part of the problem is that domain names are not dusty legal documents - they are vital pieces of electronic information which are in constant use.
Solutions which would be acceptable to lawyers may not be attractive to users - or technically feasible. Furthermore, while owning an individual do- main name may be valuable, this pales beside the potential returns of controlling the registration and distribution of those names.
Denis Kelleher is co-author with Karen Murray of Information Technology Law in Ireland (Butterworths)