Domain Name - Domain Name Dispute Resolution, Domain Name Distribution And Registration

A domain name identifies an Internet Protocol (IP) address, or series of addresses, on the Internet. Each site on the Internet is assigned a series of 11 or 12 numbers, known as an IP address. Addresses are translated via a Domain Name System (DNS) server into domain names, which simply are the names assigned to the numbers. The main reason for the DNS is to make Internet addresses easier to remember. For example, 134.167.21.147 is the IP address for the domain name techcorps.org, the Internet site for an organization known as Tech Corps. The.org suffix is considered a top-level domain for organizations such as non-profit associations. Other common top-level domains include.edu for educational institutions,.gov for governmental bodies,.com for companies,.mil for military organizations, and.net for network administrators. Internet sites operating in countries other than the United States attach two-letter top-level domains, such as.ca for Canada and.jp for Japan, to the ends of their domain names. To secure a domain name, those wishing to create an Internet site simply must verify that the domain name they desire is not in use, via a firm such as Checkdomain.com, and then pay a fee to register that name.

In 1995, the number of top-level domain names registered totaled roughly 100,000. By the spring of 1999, more than 7 million domain names had been registered. That number jumped to 28.2 million by the end of 2000. As the level of domain name registration intensified through the mid-and late-1990s, issues such as the unapproved use of trademarked names arose, prompting calls for legislation dealing with domain name registration. In 1997, the Clinton administration started pushing for the creation of international policy standards regarding the assignment of domain names and the resolving of disputes over domain name rights. At the directive of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Dr. Jon Postel founded Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in 1998. ICANN is a U.S.-based, private, non-profit association overseeing Internet infrastructure issues, including addressing protocol and dispute resolution. It replaced the government operated IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority), a unit of the Internet Society and Federal Network Council that had been handling the assignment of domain names and other Internet protocol parameters.