Moving the goal posts: new rules for domain names
CNNIC (Internet Network Information Center of China) recently revised the CNNIC Implementing Rules of Domain Name Registration. The changes are mainly to qualification requirements for applicants, verification of registration information, privacy protection of registrants’ information, registrar management and so on.
Upon approval from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China (MIIT), the revised Implementing Rules came into force from on May 29, 2012, replacing the previous rules (in place since 2009). Any application for registration of a .cn domain name, and Chinese domain names such as ....., ..... or ..... under control of CNNIC, or any domain name registration services must comply with the revised rules.
The enlarged scope of eligible applicants is the most significant change that foreigners should consider. Under the new rules, “any individual or organisation that can bear independently civil liabilities, has the right to apply for the domain registration”.
“UNDER THE OLD IMPLEMENTING RULES, A FOREIGN COMPANY ORGANISED AND EXISTING UNDER THE LAW OF A FOREIGN COUNTRY COULD NOT DIRECTLY FILE AN APPLICATION IN ITS NAME.”
According to the CNNIC’s recent interpretations, a foreign individual applicant needs to provide a copy of his or her proof of identity (such as an identity card, passport or driving licence) together with an executed letter of undertaking through any services registrar; a foreign applicant company needs to provide a copy of its proof of identity (such as a Certificate of Incorporation or the like) through a designated services registrar capable of receiving and examining such documents.
The old rules required that “an applicant for domain name registration shall be a lawfully registered organisation that can bear independently its own civil responsibilities”. So an individual (both Chinese and foreign) could not be an applicant. An organisation, in this context, was taken to mean an organisation registered and existing in China. The following documents were required to be submitted when an application was filed by the organisation:
