The domain name helps us to find our way around the Internet. On the Internet every computer has its own address known as "IP address" which means Internet Protocol address. IP addresses are nothing but strings of large numbers and it is difficult for a browser to remember all those numbers. Therefore, instead of remembering all those numbers, domain names are used. Some of the examples of domains are given below:-

.com

.net

.org

.biz

.info

. name, etc.

Some of the examples of domains are: .com, .net, .org, .biz, .info, .name, etc.
There are different types of domain names catering to various requirements and the registrations of domain names are subject to various conditions. For example the domains such as the .com, .org, .net, .biz, .info etc, are unsponsored top-level domains and its usage is not restricted and open to all. Whereas, the .coop, .museum, .arrow, etc, are top-level domains (TLDs) and are sponsored for usage within a particular community. Apart from the above-referred domains there are also two letter domains such as .in, .sg, .uk etc, which are called country code top-level domains (ccTLDs), which correspond, to a country, territory or its geographical location.

A domain name is one of the primary means of reaching your website through internet. Also By allowing the use of unique alphabetical addresses instead of numeric ones, domain names allow Internet users to more easily find and communicate with web sites and other server-based services. The flexibility of the domain name system allows multiple IP addresses to be assigned to a single domain name, or multiple domain names to be assigned to a single IP address. This means that one server may have multiple roles (such as hosting multiple independent Web sites), or that one role can be spread among many servers. One IP address can also be assigned to several servers.

There are a number of competing companies which help a person/company to register their domain names. The said companies are known as "Registrars". Each country has a central registry to store unique names and addresses on the Internet. A list of accredited and accreditation-qualified Registrars can be found on the ICANN web site: http://www.icann.org/registrars/accredited-list.html.

The registrar when approached will ask the person to provide details of contact and other technical information, which helps to proceed for the registration of domain name. The registrar after collecting the address and details will submit the information to a central directory called the "Registry".

The registry in turn will create a registration contract between the registrar and the person who wants to register his domain name and the registry will also set forth the terms and conditions for the acceptance and maintenance of the registration of domain names.

Not always, since the mark may be registered by different persons/companies and for different goods or services and some one may have also registered the said mark as their domain name. Similarly if a person/company has a registered domain name that will not entitle the person/company to register a trade mark for the same name. This is because the registration of domain name may not satisfy the basic requirements for the registration of trade mark or may be deceptively similar with someone's earlier mark and may cause confusion.

ICANN is the abbreviation of "Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers". It is an internationally recognised non-profit corporation. It is responsible for coordinating and managing the technical aspects of domain names to ensure universal acceptance. It has the responsibility for management and other allied functions related to Internet protocol address space allocation, protocol identifier assignment, generic Top-Level Domain name (gTLD) and country code Top-Level Domain name (ccTLD).

ICANN's main priority is to preserve the operational stability of the Internet, achieving broad representation of global Internet community, developing policies and formulating rules to achieve said purpose. ICANN's policies and structures are based on Government's and international treaty organization's policies.

With said salient features, ICANN paved the way for registration of domains in hundreds of world's Languages. ICANN has resolved nearly five thousand disputes involving the rights of parties concerning their domain names. Though ICANN is an organization, which ensures universal resolvability of domain names, its scope of activities is restricted. ICANN is not the proper authority to deal with the problems of Spam, contents of the Internet or matters involving financial transactions and data protection.

The registrars who cater service to the requirements of persons/companies involving domain names can offer initial and renewal registrations in one-year increments, provided that the maximum remaining un-expired term shall not exceed ten years.

Ordinarily disputes involving registration of domain names are resolved through the court of law between the parties concerned to the registration of Domain names. The ruling of the court are implemented by the registrar. Apart from this, ICANN accredited registrars follow a uniform dispute resolution policy, which provides for an expedited administrative procedure. The said policy is known as "Uniform Domain Name Disputes Resolution Policy", which sets forth the terms and conditions concerning a dispute between the parties (other than the registrar) involving the registration and use of an Internet domain name. A complaint can be filed to invoke the administrative procedure with one of the Dispute-Resolution Service Providers. The rules of UDRP also apply to the global Top Level Domains. The following are ICANN's accredited Uniform Dispute Resolution Providers (UDRP);

• Asian Domain Name Dispute Resolution Center (ADNDRC)
• CPR Institute for Dispute Resolution (CPR).
•  The National Arbitration Forum (NAF)
• World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

More details about the accredited resolution providers, their addresses and functioning can be obtained from the following web site,
http://www.icann.org/dndr/udrp/approved-providers.htm.   

The following types of disputes are covered under the UDRP Administrative Procedure:

• the domain name registered by the domain name registrant is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which the complainant (the person or entity bringing the complaint) has rights; and
• the domain name registrant has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name in question; and
•  the domain name has been registered and is being used in bad faith

No, the UDRP does not prevent a party from approaching a court of law for an independent resolution. The party may either approach the court before referring the matter to administrative proceeding or after the adjudication of the dispute through administrative procedure, if it is not satisfied with the outcome.

The following are the advantages;

• Faster and cheaper way of resolving the dispute.
• Procedures are more informal than litigation.
• The panelists are specialists in the field of international trademark law, domain name issues, electronic commerce and Internet.
• The procedures and its implementations are international in scope.

Ever since the UDRP came into effect in the year 1999, from then till 2003, WIPO's Arbitration and Mediation Center has handled 6,000 disputes, covering 10,000 names. Till date parties from 116 different countries have referred domain name disputes to WIPO for adjudication. In a year WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center deal with over 56 cases involving country code top-level domains (cc TLD). Some of the important domain name cases handled by WIPO are that of bodyshop.as, nutella.bs, amazon.com.cy and yahoo.ph.. In addition to these WIPO has handled disputes involving the domain names of famous brands such as pepsi-smash.com, calvinklein-watches.com, rolexgroup.com, oscartv.com, piercebrosonan.com, madrid2012.org, etc.