Territorialism versus Universalism: International Intellectual Property Law in the Internationalized Domain Name System

Abstract

This paper explores how the present international intellectual property law can be applied to resolve the new conflicts arising from the internationalized domain name system (DNS), in which non‐Latin characters are permissible for direct use in domain names. It also analyzes the two approaches to address this issue: one approach that territorializes the rights and disputes on the borderless Internet, and another that universalizes the rights on the global medium. By presenting a comprehensive study with respect to the relevant international intellectual property law and practices, this paper attempts to research whether a balanced solution to the conflict between the legal system and the technical system could be sought out through maintaining the principle of territoriality of intellectual property protection, and it also examines the alternative procedure built in the DNS for the resolution of intellectual property controversies, namely the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy, and assesses whether the alternative procedure that actually supersedes the principle of territoriality is consistent with the existing international intellectual property law and interoperable with the internationalized DNS.