Changes In .Be (Belgium Domain Names) Favor Trademark Owners

DNS BE, the manager of the .be (Belgium) domain name zone has announced the following changes to its Terms and Conditions that favor trademark owners:

Faster implementation of Dispute Resolution decisions - The submission to the alternative dispute resolution procedures does not prevent either the domain name holder or the Complainant from submitting the dispute to a court of competent jurisdiction for independent resolution before, during or after those proceedings. Previously, If a Third-party Dispute Resolution Provider decided that the domain name registration should be cancelled or transferred, DNS BE would implement that decision 30 days after being informed of the decision except if the domain name holder had appealed the dispute resolution decision in due time. If the appeal procedure was started in time, DNS BE would not take further action (whilst leaving the domain name on hold) until the appeal procedure had ended or had been cancelled. Under the new rules, DNS BE would implement the decision 15 days after being informed of the decision.

Partial recovery of Dispute Resolution costs for Successful complainants - The dispute resolution fee must be paid in advance by the Complainant. However, if the Third-party Dispute Resolution Provider concludes that the domain name registration needs to be struck out or transferred, DNS BE shall repay half of these costs to the Complainant.

Partial responsibility for Dispute Resolution costs by cybersquatters - If the Third-party Dispute Resolution Provider concludes that the domain name registration needs to be struck out or transferred, DNS BE shall reclaim the portion of the Dispute costs repaid to the Complainant from the domain name holder.

Cybersquatting (the registration...