The Domain Name System

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The Domain Name System (DNS) is a distributed, hierarchical database of Internet name and address information. The purpose of the DNS is to resolve, or map, the names of host computers to numerical IP (Internet Protocol) addresses. Every computer connected to the Internet has its own unique IP address. The IP address is a 32-bit number that is conventionally presented in dotted decimal form divided into four binary octets. The domain name is an alphanumerical name that corresponds to the IP address. The founders of the Internet introduced the concept of domain names because alphanumerical names are easier for humans to understand and remember than relatively long, meaningless IP addresses.

The domain name space is organized hierarchically according to a root and tree structure. When read from left to right, the name follows a path from the branches of the tree to the root. A domain name, such as , essentially consists of two main elements: the top-level domain (TLD), second-level domain (2LD) and sometimes it may contain a third or higher level domain. The machine-readable addresses are called IP (Internet Protocol) addresses, because the location of data on the Internet is identified using the Internet Protocol Address System. Every resource on the Internet (web site, web page or e-mail address) must have a unique Internet Protocol address. Without this unique identifying address, resources on the Internet will not be able to find other specific resources. There will, for example, be no way of making sure that the important e-mail one sends will reach the intended addressee. Domain names are converted into a thirty-two-bit dotted decimal notation, or a number consisting of four octets (sets of eight binary digits...

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...a and without a presence on the Internet. Thousands of domain names were registered with the ulterior motives of reselling the domain names for profit, or of using established trade marks and brands to attract custom to web sites by registrants with no actual relation or right to the mark or brand. It was, therefore, only a matter of time before an inherent tension between domain names and intellectual property rights became apparent, which tension raises challenging policy questions.

Interestingly, the DNS system is essentially a privately administered system that confers rights through registrations that can be accessed from around the globe, giving the ‘rights holder’ an international presence. The intellectual property rights system, on the contrary, is publicly administered on a strictly territorial basis, and confers rights only within a specific territory.

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