Commercial co.za domain names are becoming increasingly valuable as the number of desirable options runs out, but many co.za domain name owners are unaware that they may not be the rightful 'owners' of the domain they use to conduct their business.
This is according to Neil Dundas, policy and legal advisor at UniForum SA, the organisation responsible for the .co.za South African domain name registry.
There are countless examples of commercial organisations whose Internet service providers (ISPs), Web masters or employees have failed to register their domain name in the name of the company as instructed, he points out.
“In these instances, there could be dire financial and business consequences for the business,” explains Dundas. In some cases, the only recourse would be to register an alternate domain name or to dispute the domain name registration through organisations like the ZA Dispute Resolution Procedure, he adds.
Companies should be aware of cases where unethical ISPs, or Web masters, refuse to relinquish control of a domain to a client wishing to switch to a new service provider, he says. “Any other number of conflicts may arise between ISPs and clients on whose behalf they have registered domain names,” he adds.
“Whatever the cause of a dispute between an ISP/Web master and their client, the end result is always the same. If the ISP/Web master has registered your co.za domain in their name, even if this is against your original instructions, they will have the administrative power to veto any changes to the domain name record,” Dundas explains.
Unfortunately, he adds, disputes of this nature have the potential to escalate into full-blown litigation or disciplinary hearings, under the Internet Service Providers' Association of SA (ISPA) as a breach of its code of conduct.
Should companies find any of their details are incorrect, he advises that the matter be taken up with the relevant ISP.
Before registering domains, Dundas says companies should consult organisations like the ISPA, which maintains a list of reputable ISPs which have committed to registering domains in their clients' names. The disciplinary process can also be found on ISPA's homepage.
Domain names form a critical part of a business' brand identity and communication systems, and it would be well worth the time to confirm the domain name details are correct, concludes Dundas.
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