Is it legal to register Chinese domain names
According to the relevant laws and regulations of our country, preemptive registration of Chinese domain names is legal, but Malicious registration may constitute infringement or unfair competition.
According to the "Supreme People's Court's Notice on Trials Involving Computer Networks" Interpretation of Several Issues on Applicable Laws in Domain Name Civil Disputes Cases" Article 4
When hearing a domain name dispute case, the people's court shall determine that the defendant's registration and use of the domain name constitutes infringement or unfair competition if the following conditions are met:
(1) The civil rights and interests requested by the plaintiff to be protected are legal and valid;
(2) The defendant’s domain name or a major part thereof constitutes a copy, imitation, translation or transliteration of the plaintiff’s well-known trademark; Or it is identical or similar to the plaintiff’s registered trademark, domain name, etc., enough to cause misunderstanding among the relevant public;
(3) The defendant has no interest in the domain name or its main part, and has no legitimate reason to register or use the domain name;
(4) The defendant registered and used the domain name with malicious intent.
What behavior can be considered malicious squatting
Based on Article 5 of the "Interpretations of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Civil Disputes Involving Computer Network Domain Names"
If the defendant’s behavior is proven to be in any of the following circumstances, the people’s court shall determine that the defendant has malicious intent:
(1) Registering others’ well-known trademarks as domain names for commercial purposes;
(2) Registration, use and The plaintiff's registered trademark, domain name and other identical or similar domain names intentionally cause confusion with the products and services provided by the plaintiff or the plaintiff's website, and mislead Internet users to access its website or other online sites;
(3) has offered to sell, rent or otherwise transfer the domain name at a high price to obtain improper benefits;
(4) After registering a domain name, you do not use it or plan to use it, but intentionally prevent the right holder from registering the domain name;
(5) There are other malicious circumstances. The defendant provides evidence to prove that before the dispute occurred If the domain name held by it has gained a certain degree of popularity and can be distinguished from the plaintiff's registered trademark, domain name, etc., or there are other circumstances that are sufficient to prove that it does not have bad faith, the people's court may not find that the defendant has bad faith.
With the popularity of Chinese domain names, basic mainstream browsers support Chinese Direct access to the domain name address bar. The value of Chinese domain names continues to rise. Brand protection of Chinese domain names is indeed very necessary. If a Chinese domain name is pre-registered, first determine whether it is malicious pre-registration and then take other measures. If you need legal help, readers are welcome Go to the Legal Savior Network for legal consultation.
