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Samsung registers 470 .CN domains in 2005 to protect against domain name hijackers By Faye Wang Shanghai. May 25. INTERFAX-CHINA - Samsung has registered more than 470 .CN internet domain names during 2005 in an attempt to protect the company from domain name hijackers, a Marketing Manager with CNNIC (China Internet Network Information Center), which administrates the registration of .CN domain names, said. "Registering these .CN domain names is actually a way for Samsung to protect its brand. It will help protect against the misuse of the company's brand in .CN domain names," the CNNIC official, who wished to remain anonymous, told Interfax. "Because Samsung is a multinational company, domain names have become one of the company's most important brand management strategies." Samsung's official China website, www.samsung.com.cn, Image: Samsung Of the 470 domain names registered by the South Korean electronics giant, 34 are variations of the company's name differentiated by specific suffixes identifying different Chinese provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions, such as www.samsung.bj.com.cn and www.samsung.bj.cn for Beijing, and www.samsung.sh.com.cn and www.samsung.sh.cn for Shanghai. The company also registered www.samsung.tw.cn, which includes the suffix used to identify the island of Taiwan. In addition to the Samsung name, the company also registered different variations of its Chairman's name Lee Kunhee, such as www.leekunhee.com.cn, www.leekunhee.bj.cn, and www.leekunhee.cn. "Along with the rapid development of .CN domain names, there have also been more hijacking of domain names in China," the CNNIC official said. "Some people have specifically hijacked the .CN domain names of well-known multinational companies in an attempt to make a profit." Multinationals such as BMW, L'Oreal and Coca-cola have all been victims of .CN domain name hijacking. In one recent example, Google was forced to pay USD 1 mln to buy the rights to the www.google.com.cn domain name. As a result, many multinationals have begun to protect themselves by registering a number of variations of different .CN domain names, including Panasonic and Volkswagen, in addition to Samsung. Germany's Deutscher Telekom has even registered more than 100 different .CN domain names even though the company has no business operations in China at present, the CNNIC official said. "Rapid economic development in China means more multinational companies are paying attention to the Chinese market and registering .CN domain names. Even if they don't have businesses in China now, many have intentions of entering the Chinese market," the CNNIC official said. Samsung first registered the www.samsung.com.cn domain name in early 1997 for the company's official Chinese website. Subsequently, the company has registered additional .CN domains gradually in 2002 and 2003. However, the 470 .CN domain names registered in 2005 are the largest one group of domain names that Samsung has registered to date. WIPO Recommends Uniform Mechanism To Regulate Domain Name Registrations 2 June 2005 - The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has recommended the introduction of a uniform intellectual property (IP) protection mechanism designed to further curb unauthorized registration of domain names in all new generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs). This came in a report by WIPO’s Arbitration and Mediation Center (WIPO Center) on the IP implications of introducing additional generic Top-Level Domains (new gTLDs). The report, "New Generic Top-Level Domains: Intellectual Property Considerations", which is available at http://arbiter.wipo.int/domains/reports/newgtld-ip, said that such a preventive mechanism would complement the curative relief provided by the existing Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP). The report is based on WIPO’s experience in the area of IP protection in the domain name system (DNS). "The introduction of a new gTLD presents particular challenges for IP owners seeking to protect their domain names against unauthorized registration by third parties. With the growth of Internet usage and electronic commerce, the strategic importance of domain names as business identifiers has grown significantly," said Mr. Francis Gurry, WIPO Deputy Director General who oversees the work of the Center. Mr. Gurry said that registering their entire trademark portfolio may often be the only way for IP owners to protect their identifiers from being "grabbed" by cybersquatters. "If domain names are randomly attributed in newly opened gTLDs, IP owners will be forced to compete with cybersquatters for their own trademarks – unless additional safeguards are introduced," he added. "Our new report makes practical recommendations for addressing such issues." WIPO’s report has been prepared in response to a request made by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the institution that oversees the functioning of the DNS. Following the introduction of seven new gTLDs in 2000 (.aero, .biz, .coop, .info, .museum, .name, .pro), ICANN is developing a comprehensive strategy for further expansion of the DNS. The report provides input into that strategy from an IP and dispute resolution perspective. Register.com Selected as a Leader in Customer Service by 2005 American Business Awards; Register.com Named as Finalist in ''Best Customer Service Organization'' Category Register.com, Inc. (Nasdaq:RCOM), a leading provider of global domain registration and Internet services, today announced that it has been named a category finalist for Best Customer Service Organization for this year's 2005 American Business Awards. Hailed as "the business world's own Oscars" by the New York Post (April 27, 2005), The American Business Awards are the first national, all-encompassing business awards program honoring great performances in the workplace. Register.com is being honored for its commitment and dedication to providing superior customer service. A leader among companies in the Internet Services field, Register.com's Customer Service Team is available toll-free, 24 hours a day, and will spend as long as necessary on the phone with customers to help ensure their issues are resolved. In 2004, 80 percent of calls to Register.com's customer service center were answered in 45 seconds or less. Eighty-five percent of inbound calls were resolved during the first phone call, and only 2 percent of calls needed to be referred beyond the initial customer service representative (CSR) who answered the phone. As a result of the team's outstanding performance, Register.com CSRs have received accolades from hundreds of customers for going well above and beyond the call of duty. "Our goal is to provide the best customer service in the industry. Our representatives are trained professionals who are committed to handling callers' requests with the utmost courtesy, patience, and knowledge," said Monica Hodges, general manager of retail for Register.com, Register.com. "We have also trained our customer service representatives to take on a consultative role, advising customers on how they can leverage new and existing products and services to strengthen their business plans. The result is that our customers get more than just a 'band-aid' fix to a technical problem - they get a better experience and more value from their relationship with Register.com." Nicknamed the Stevies(TM) for the Greek word "crowned," winners will be announced during presentations on Monday, June 6 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. The ceremonies will be videocast on the Internet and broadcast on radio. Donald J. Trump will receive the first Lifetime Achievement Stevie Award that evening. Details about The American Business Awards and the list of Finalists are available at www.stevieawards.com/aba. About Register.com Register.com, Inc. (www.register.com) is a leading provider of global domain name registration and Internet services for businesses and consumers that wish to have a unique address and branded identity on the Internet. With approximately 2.9 million domain names under management, Register.com has built a brand based on quality domain name management services for small and medium sized businesses, large corporations, as well as ISPs, telcos and other online businesses. The company was founded in 1994 and is based in New York. Statements in this announcement other than historical data and information constitute forward-looking statements, and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements. These potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, uncertainty of future revenue and profitability from existing businesses, increasing competition across all segments of the domain name registration business, risks associated with high levels of credit card chargebacks and refunds, uncertainty regarding the introduction and success of new top level domains, including, customer acceptance of new products and services offered in addition to, or as enhancements of our registration services, uncertainty of regulations related to the domain registration business and the Internet generally, the rate of growth of the Internet and domain name industry, risks associated with any extraordinary transactions we may pursue, uncertainty regarding the timing of the Company's completion of the audit and filing of its 2004 Form 10-K, uncertainty regarding identification of additional control deficiencies as material weaknesses, uncertainty regarding unforeseen issues encountered in the completion of the financial statements for inclusion in the 2004 Form 10-K, uncertainties regarding the extent to which prior period financial statements will be restated and other factors detailed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2004. |
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