International and Foreign Cyberspace Law Research Guide

• Technical Standards
• Domain Names
• Domain Name Registration & Dispute Resolution for Selected Jurisdictions
   

Technical Standards

• Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
  The IETF is an open standards organization established in 1986 to oversee the development and evolution of the network protocols that facilitate the free flow of data across the global system of interconnected computer networks. Working groups of volunteers with expertise in their respective fields facilitate the adoption of new or modified protocols on a consensual basis by soliciting “requests for comments” (RFCs).
   
• Internet Society (ISOC)
  This international non-profit organization, comprised of both institutional and individual members, was established in 1992 to provide a legal and institutional framework to support the work of the Internet Engineering Task Force and its sister bodies, the Internet Engineering Steering Group and the Internet Architecture Board.
   
• World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
  Founded in 1994 by Tim Berners-Lee, the W3C is another open standards organization that complements the work of the IETF by facilitating the development of document formats (HTML, CSS, XML, SVG, etc.) and application program interfaces (APIs). Like the IETF, the W3C operates on a consensual basis, with a mixture of volunteers and paid staff members circulating draft standards and soliciting comments and feedback.
   

Domain Names

• Internet Corporation for Assigned Names & Numbers (ICANN)
  ICANN is a non-profit corporation founded in 1998 to coordinate the allocation of domain names and Internet protocol (IP) addresses, approve the introduction of new top-level domains (TLDs), and develop a policy for resolving domain name disputes. After initially performing these functions under a contract with the U.S. Department of Commerce, ICANN has evolved into a fully independent, multi-stakeholder entity that is no longer subject to U.S. government oversight. 
  
  The ICANN website provides access to the following resources:
  • What Does ICANN Do?
  • ICANN Bylaws
  • ICANN Acronyms & Terms (explains Internet jargon in language accessible to the layperson)
  • Options for Resolving Disputes Over Domain Names
  • Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy
  • ICANN Registration Data Lookup Tool (f/k/a WHOIS) (searchable database of registered owners of domain names)
     

Domain Name Registration & Dispute Settlement

• Domain Name Dispute Decisions
  This subset of Bloomberg Law's Docket Search enables you to search for decisions rendered in domain name disputes by the following tribunals:
  • Asian Domain Name Dispute Resolution Centre
  • Czech Arbitration Court (ADR.eu)
  • National Arbitration Forum (NAF)
  • World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Arbitration & Mediation Center
     
• Getting the Deal Through (GTDT)
  This multi-jurisdictional resources offers in-depth, practitioner-written summaries of national laws and regulations that govern the domain name registration process and the resolution of disputes over domain names for selected jurisdictions. Begin by selecting “Tech” as the Work Area.  After the page refreshes, select “Domains and Domain Names,” then select a jurisdiction or use the comparison tool to compare laws across multiple jurisdictions.