One year on
August 2009 marked one year since the .ae Domain Administration (.aeDA) registry system went live. In this article we provide some background to the .aeDA, along with information relating to .ae domain name eligibility. We then provide background information to the .ae dispute resolution policy and briefly contrast this with domain name dispute procedures in other GCC countries.
.aeDA
In 2007, the UAE Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) approved the establishment of the .aeDA. The .ae domain name space had previously been administered by the UAE NIC registry, which operated as an arm of the Federal telecommunications company, Etisalat. Partly due to increased competition in the telecommunications sector in the UAE, and partly motivated by the goal of adopting a "world's best practice" registry system, the management of the .ae domain name space was reorganized.
The reorganisation of the management of the .ae domain name space involved the adoption of a registry/registrar model, launched in August 2008, in which .aeDA assumed the role of the regulatory body and the registry operator, and accredited registrars are able to contract with the registry to provide consumer-facing services to registrants. The model also provides for resellers to contract with registrars to provide an additional service option to consumers. The overall outcome is one of enhanced competition, as consumers now have a range of registrars and resellers from whom they can source .ae domain name services.
One of the key benefits of the establishment of the .aeDA has been the launch of the .aeDA.ae website, which has become a definitive source for information relating to .ae domain names. The comprehensive nature of the content, and the clarity with which various policy documents are set out, provide some illustrations of the success that the .aeDA has had in meeting its goal of "world's best practice".
.ae Domain Name Rules
In order to register a .ae domain name, a registrant must meet the standard .aeDA domain name eligibility policy (available on www.aeda.ae). Domain names ending with certain suffixes are restricted to registrants who meet specific additional criteria.
The .ae domain name rules require that domain names have between and 2 and 63 characters, begin and end with a letter or a number (and not a dash), contain no empty spaces, and contain no dashes in the third and fourth positions. The rules also require that .ae domain names be composed using the English character set and allow them to contain letters and numbers and dashes or a combination of these.
On this last aspect, regarding use of the English character set, it is to be noted that the .aeDA is currently preparing to offer Arabic language domain names. In fact, .aeDA has already finalised the backend requirements that will allow the registry to support Arabic language script and the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority has approved the adoption of . ?????? (.EMARAT). Once some policy related matters are resolved with ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, which has a coordination role in respect of the internet's naming system), Arabic script domain names with the . ??????(.EMARAT) ccTLD will be available for registration.
Restricted Domain Names
As noted above, some domain names suffixes are 'restricted'. This means that certain additional requirements must be met in order for the domain names to be registered. Specifically, domain names ending in the suffixes .co.ae, .net.ae, .org.ae, .ac.ae, .sch.ae, .gov.ae and .mil.ae are all restricted zones. We summarise these requirements very simply below, with a focus on .co.ae and .net.ae domain names.
Domain names ending with the suffix "co.ae" are domain names for commercial entities trading in the UAE. An entity that wishes to hold such a domain name must have a valid trade license within the UAE issued under the Commercial Companies Law, or own (or have applied for) a registered trade mark in the UAE.
Domain names with the suffix "net.ae" are for IT service providers registered within the UAE. An entity that wishes to hold such a domain name must have a valid trade license within the UAE for the provision of IT services; and¹ own (or have applied for) a registered trade mark in the UAE for an IT service or product.
In the case of both .co.ae and .net.ae, entities registered in UAE Free Zones are not eligible to hold domain names with these extensions. This is a clear prohibition on the registration of .ae domain names by Free Zone entities. We double-checked with the .aeDA to determine whether or not Free Zone entities could, on the basis of a UAE trade mark application or registration, register a corresponding .co.ae or .net.ae domain name. We were advised that the eligibility policy is correct, and that Free Zone entities are not eligible to hold .co.ae or .net.ae domain names - even if they hold UAE trade marks.
To be eligible for registration, the desired .co.ae or .net.ae domain name must be an exact match to, an acronym of, an abbreviation of, or closely connected to, one of the following:
the name of a company in which the Registrant has a 50% or greater shareholding or which the Registrant controls;
the trading name or trade mark of a company in which the Registrant has a 50% or greater shareholding or which the Registrant controls; or
the name of an organisation or association controlled by the Registrant.
The suffix .org.ae is available to "Not for Profit Organizations" of the UAE, including sporting, charitable and religious organisations. Applicants need to provide a copy of their Certificate of Registration or a letter confirming the same from the Ministry of Social Affairs of the UAE, and they need to confirm that the Administrative Contact is an employee or officer of the requesting organization who has authority to act for the organisation. The requirements for .sch.ae and .ac.ae are basically the same, although the letter of confirmation should be provided by the Ministry of Education.
Domain names ending with .gov.ae and .mil.ae are obviously restricted to UAE government and military organisations.
Dispute Resolution: .ae And Other GCC Countries
Another way in which the .ae domain space is being managed using "world's best practice" is via the adoption of dispute resolution policy and rules based on the UDRP policy and rules. In fact, the UAEnic showed some foresight in being the first Middle Eastern country to adopt this internationally recognised dispute resolution format back in 2002 - before the .aeDA was established. Since that time, .ae remains the only ccTLD in the GCC to use these dispute resolution rules and policies.
The adoption of policy and rules based on the UDRP policy and rules provides interested parties, particularly foreign companies, with a clear understanding of the options available to resolve domain name disputes in the .ae domain name space. In contrast, the approaches taken in the domain name spaces of the other GCC countries are not as readily understandable for foreign entities with domain name disputes in those countries.
The domain name rules for .sa (Saudi Arabia) and .om (Oman) both simply state that any disputes between parties over the rights to use a particular domain name are to be settled between the contending parties using normal legal methods. The domain name authorities exempt themselves from all responsibility for the verification of rights to a domain name, on the basis that they cannot act as arbiter of disputes arising out of this kind of conflict.
With regard to .bh (Bahrain), .kw (Kuwait) and .qa (Qatar), the basis of domain name dispute resolution is less clear. While we would expect that domain name disputes in these countries will simply be resolved "using normal legal methods", as is the case in Saudi Arabia and Oman, the official websites of the respective domain name authorities provide no information in this regard.
The transparent approach taken in the .ae domain name space with regard to domain name disputes is one that other GCC authorities may wish to consider.
By Nick O’Connell - Dubai Office
© Al Tamimi & Company 2009
