Region: Europe

The Danish Internet Forum, which administers the '.dk' domain, has adopted a new set of rules on the registration of country-code top-level domain names. Among other things, the rules provide for a waiting list for desired names and the use of Danish characters.

02 July 2002

DNS.BE, the nonprofit organization responsible for registering country-code top-level domains in Belgium, has announced that it will allow the transfer of '.be' names beginning in the third quarter of this year.

28 June 2002

In the final chapter to the saga regarding use of the acronym 'WWF', the World Wrestling Federation has changed its company and domain names, leaving the domain name 'wwf.com' for the World Wide Fund for Nature (formerly the World Wildlife Fund).

14 June 2002

EU ministers have published the regulation that establishes '.eu' as a new top-level domain, in the hope that a pan-European address will stimulate e-commerce in Europe. As part of the next phase - implementation - the European Commission will advertise for interested parties to apply to run the domain.

10 June 2002

According to a judgment of the District Court of Düsseldorf, the use of words as metatags that are not directly related to the content of a website is an infringement of the German Law against Unfair Competition.

24 May 2002

Nominet, the registry for all domain names ending '.uk', is the subject of a website campaign against its plan to make publicly available the addresses of those who register or have already registered domain names.

22 May 2002

A plan is underway to make the existing rules for registering under Spain's country-code top-level domain more flexible, while at the same time assuring security to maintain the very low rate of cybersquatting involving '.es' domains.

17 May 2002

A Ministry of Transport working group has issued its report regarding Phase Two of the liberalization of Norway's domain name regulations. The report focuses on the administration of the country-code top-level domain '.no', which is the responsibility of NORID.

08 May 2002

Many businesses trading on the Internet are keen to protect their brands on a European-wide basis. Some businesses, however, have been scammed by a German company charging €1,235 for registration in a bogus Community trademarks register.

22 April 2002

Nominet.uk has issued a warning to Scottish businesses that the '.sc' domain, being marketed as a Scottish domain, is in fact the country code of the Seychelles. Nominet notes that while there is nothing wrong with a '.sc' domain name, people should know what they are getting when they register.

18 April 2002