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Title:

Domain Names - A Practical Guide

Review:

The world of domain names is a minefield. This book, published by Tolley's, one of the leading publishers in the area of tax, legal and business information, is a practical and thorough guide through that minefield.

The book is divided into six parts: Choosing and registering a domain name; Sale and transfer of a domain name; Changing domain name registration; Domain name disputes; FAQs and Appendices. Each part is further divided into numbered subsections, making citation and reference very easy.

As a relative newcomer to the world of domain names, I found the first section on registering a domain name particularly interesting and the easiest to read. It clearly takes the reader through the process of what to do when choosing a domain name registration company and registering the domain name. The authors point out the differences between different types of domain names and issues to consider when registering a domain name, for example, country code top level domains that mislead people such as .co which actually stands for Colombia rather than "company" and .dj which stands for Djibouti, not disc jockey. The first section also includes a whole chapter giving practical advice on registering a domain name as a trade mark, including the definition of a trade mark and how to go about conducting both UK and European trade mark searches. Given the importance companies are attaching to their intellectual property and brand names, this is extremely useful information.

Part B goes into detail regarding the selling and transferring of a domain name to another party. This includes model transfer agreements for both the vendor and the purchaser - useful if you are likely to become involved in such a process and want to know what will be involved. Also in section B is an interesting chapter on how to work out the value of a domain name in monetary terms, with a number of worked examples.

Part C is a very short section, taking the reader step-by-step through the process of changing domain name registration information. Part D, the largest section of the book, looks at domain name disputes, considering why they arise and what laws, dispute resolution policies and procedures are available to solve them.

This book is written by lawyers for lawyers, although it is certainly an excellent reference work for others such as IT managers, business and legal advisers, who may at some point have to deal with issues regarding domain names. Those used to reading texts dealing with legal matters will find this book easy to read; those who aren't may find it somewhat dry and hard going, although it is evident that the authors have tried hard not to use complicated legal terminology. As a marketing analyst, who at present has no involvement with my company's domain names, I would still include this book on my reference shelf and be ready to recommend it to colleagues who do. It covers all the important aspects, is from an authoritative source, includes sample documents and points out potential pitfalls in dealing with domain names. On the bottom of the book's front cover are three words "accuracy, clarity, value", which sum up this text perfectly.

Free Pint Reviewer:

Helen Clegg is Senior Marketing Analyst with R.R. Donnelley Europe, based in London. She has a B.A. Hons. in French and German and an M.Sc. in Library and Information Studies from Loughborough University. She is a Board Member of the European Chapter of the Special Libraries Association. Helen writes here in a personal capacity. She can be contacted at <helen.clegg@rrd.com>.

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