Domain Disputes Committee

Upon registration of domain names pursuant to the principle “first come, first served”, there may be situations where persons who are not bona fides justified with regard to the respective domain try to register domain names, i.e. the domain is being hijacked.

Mostly, such activity concerns domain names that coincide with or are similar to well-known trademarks. The goal of registrants acting in bad faith is usually to profit from the sale of the respective domain name to the legitimate owner of the trademark or another sign.

In order to prevent such situations the Estonian Internet Foundation has established the Domain Disputes Committee (DDC). 

RESOLUTION OF DISPUTES

1. The Domain Disputes Committee is not a court or a court of arbitration, but a specific independent body for resolution of disputes pertaining to .ee domains, which operates under the aegis of the Estonian Internet Foundation.

2. If you find that someone has, without your consent, registered a domain name that coincides with your trademark or your name as an individuals or your company name or another name entered in a register, you can submit an application to the DDC.

3. You must certainly indicate in the application: a) the person (the registrant) who in your opinion has violated your rights by registering the domain name and b) the respective domain name. You need to submit evidence confirming your submissions and pay the fee of the commission. All application requirements are written in DDC Rules paragraph 5. All compliant applications should be sent to disputes[at]internet.ee.

4. If you don't know the information about the Registrant (for example if Registrant is natural person and his or her information is closed via WHOIS-service), then you have a right to request access to this information from the DDC. In this case you need to submit your request to info@internet.ee with a legal justification for why you need access to this Registrant information.

5. If your application complies with the requirements set out in the DDC Rules, the DDC will accept it and submit it also to the registrant who is (allegedly) violating your rights.

6. The registrant is obligated to submit to the DDC its response to your application within 14 calendar days and in the response the registrant must reason its right to register the domain name and refute your submissions concerning the violation of your rights.

7. If you have the said documents, the DDC will make a decision on the application on the basis of the submissions, reasons and evidence of both parties. The decision may: a) reject the application or b) approve the application.

8. If the DDC approves the application, the domain name violating your rights will be annulled or transferred to the applicant, depending on what decision was requested from the DDC.

The Domain Disputes Commission Regulations do not provide for the award of procedural costs or fees from the other party or the refund of the fee to the disputant. The costs associated with initiating the proceedings are borne by the disputant at his own risk, and the fee covers the costs associated with conducting the proceedings, regardless of the decision made by the Commission. Therefore, there is no legal basis in the Domain Disputes Commission proceedings for the refund of the procedural fee or its compensation by the other party to the proceedings.  

The Domain Disputes Commission proceedings are essentially an out-of-court alternative dispute resolution procedure, the purpose of which is to enable a quick, efficient and cost-effective resolution of domain disputes on clear grounds set out in the Regulations, compared to traditional court proceedings. Due to the structure of the proceedings, the disputant bears the risk of initiating the proceedings, including the obligation to pay the fee, regardless of the final outcome of the dispute.

Detailed description of the dispute settlement procedures and requirements are written in the Domain Dispute Committee Rules. Fees can be found here.

In case of any wording misapprehensions between the English and Estonian version, wording in Estonian is superior and legally binding.