Most important of all for businesses, domain name abuse will be outlawed in the gTLDs. Inaccurate information can be the basis for the cancellation of a name. The applicant must agree to submit to the jurisdiction of courts in the country of domicile of the applicant or where the registration authority is based. Names should not be activated until they have been paid for. Searchable databases of names must be maintained by the authorities.
Complainants can seek to resolve a dispute through the courts if preferred.
The registration authorities must agree to enforce the determinations of disputes which will be published at a web site. The complainant should pay the cost of procedure in advance but the decision-maker has the power to allocate costs between parties. The abusive registration of a domain name should be grounds for transfer or deletion. Practical governance by a non-profit body for the good of Internet users is a striking thought. Nick Wood is founder and director of Net Searchers, which assists companies to police their intellectual property on the Internet.