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I August 28 2001 - Brazil
1 AOL recovers domai" "ame i" Brazil
I Reg;"",tiO"
I
I Dispute resolution
I
America Online Inc, the US-based internet service provider (ISP), brought a c1aim against America
On Line Telecomunicações Ltda., a local provider, that had registered the domain na me 'aol.com.br'
in 1997. The court hearing the case granted an anticipatory judgment to AOL, freezing use ofthe
domain name. The Brazilian ISP then obtained an injunction to suspend the effect ofthe anticipatory
judgment. The parties recently settled their dispute and the domain name 'aol.com.br' was handed
over to the US ISP in June.
Registration
In Brazil, top-Ievel domains (TLDs) are registered with the non-profit organization FAPESP (São
Paulo State Foundation for Academic Research). The country code TLDs '.br' 'com.br', 'org.br',
'g12.br', 'net.br', 'mil.br', 'gov.br' and 'ind.br' are granted only to corporate entities registered with the
Brazilian Ministry of Finance's Corporate Taxpayer Registry. Foreign entities are allowed to register
country code TLDs, provided a local representative is appointed within one year of the domain
name's registration.
Domain names are granted on a first come, first served basis. The FAPESP normally refuses
applications for domain names that are already registered, or that contain certain reserved
expressions or well-known trademarks.
Dispute resolution
There is no specific legislation on resolving domain name disputes in Brazil. Thus, the policies and
procedures to be applied in cyberquatting cases remains unclear. One thing is certain, however,
trademark owners may succeed in obtaining a preliminary injunction by arguing bad faith and unfair
competition. If the infringed trademark is registered with the Brazilian Patent and T rademark Office,
the trademark owners chance of success is very good.
Erlca Aoki, Moreira Lima Royster & Ohno, São Paulo
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Globe Business Publishing Ltd
16/9/2008