Row over mandate for Chinese domain names deepens

HONG KONG (Reuters) -- A dispute between the United States and China over the control of Chinese-scripted Internet addresses deepened on Monday as China reiterated its claim over all Chinese language Internet domain names.

"We hope that Chinese people would have the mandate over Chinese domain names," Mao Wei, director of the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), told a news conference in Hong Kong.

The statement is seen as yet another blow to the U.S.-based VeriSign Inc., which began offering registrations in Chinese with ".com," ".net" and ".org" extensions last month.

VeriSign has identified mainland China as a key market with its rapidly growing Internet penetration.

The company established itself at the top of the Web registration business through its $20 billion acquisition of Network Solutions Inc. in June.

But CNNIC officials earlier accused VeriSign of infringing on China's sovereignty and of introducing an inferior standard.

As an alternative, CNNIC has been selling its own version of Chinese registration with the ".cn" extension as well as extensions ending with Chinese characters.

The body announced on Monday it has received around 820,000 registrations since the launch of the service in early November.

Many confused businesses and individuals have rushed to register for both competing services for fear of losing out in future.

Hong Kong's Chinese Domain Name Corporation (C-DN) that currently handles CNNIC's overseas registration matters said it makes no sense to have overseas bodies managing domain names for Greater China.

"Right now with dot-coms, there is no dispute resolution organization in Asia. It's ironic. It's a disrespect to the IP (Internet Protocol) rights and the people here," said C-DN's CEO, John Huang.

CNNIC said it has come together with other authorities in Greater China including those in Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan to formulate uniform rules regarding the management of Chinese domain names.

But legal experts are skeptical about CNNIC's effectiveness in tackling the problem of cybersquatting, where people stake a claim on the Internet to a prominent name in the hope of selling it later.

"They are not even trying to help. Their attitude is: go to court because we are not going to deal with it," Janice Wingo of Baker McKenzie told Reuters.

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China Internet Network Information Center
VeriSign
Network Solutions
Chinese Domain Name (in Chinese)
Baker & McKenzie

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