Supreme Law News

Will the domain name registrar, GoDaddy, leave India ? New rules for domain registration.

The Court issued a warning, stating that the Domain Name Registrar (DNR) themselves will be blocked if they disobey the court's decision or carry on facilitating websites engaged in frauds and infringement

The Delhi High Court made the statement on Friday [Court on its own motion v Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology & Ors] that DNRs cannot be permitted to aid in scams and that DNRs must abide by Indian court orders if they wish to conduct business in India.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) will be urged to prohibit any DNR from operating in India if it disobeys the court's directions, according to a Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Mini Pushkarna.

"All domain name registrars (DNRs) visiting India must abide by the court's rulings. Millions of people can not be let to be duped. We shall set some rules for you to follow if you wish to conduct business in India. We'll need you to clear the internet.

The Court ruled that DNRs may not be used as a platform for con artists.

In the event that the sought domain was already controlled by another party, some DNRs were also offering other domain names, as Acting Chief Justice Manmohan pointed out.

Because the recommended alternative names often resemble the originals, users may become confused.

The DNRs can not be classified as "intermediaries" under the Information Technology (IT) Act if they continue in this manner.

These DNRs claim they will pay a price in order to negotiate with previous owners.

The Court noted that an intermediary can only assist with the hosting of websites; they can not perform this function.

An intermediary indicates his lack of interest. Your status will be called into question if you are offering ideas.

Suggestions can not be made by intermediaries. Not only would you lose safe harbor, but your very status as an intermediary will also be called into doubt, according to ACJ Manmohan.

The Court declared that in order to deal with these "hydra-headed" websites that violate other people's trademarks and engage in deception and fraud, it will establish rules that the DNRs, the MEITY, and other authorities must abide by.

A suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) petition about the emergence of websites with similar names and DNRs disobeying the directives of the High Court was being heard by the court.

The issue of whether the National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) qualifies as an intermediary is also deliberated by the High Court.

Further, it was explained that Rule 3 of the Intermediary Rules requires an intermediary to make sure that no intellectual rights, such as trademarks and copyrights, are violated.

The intermediaries now have a positive obligation to take action against the infringers even in the absence of a court ruling as a result of the recent revision to these guidelines.

A well-known DNR, GoDaddy, in the meantime, submitted an impleadment application.

"We don't belong to the DNRs that don't follow the rules. We're not leaving," it declared.

In addition to allowing GoDaddy's impleadment request, the Court also summoned the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Following that, it instructed the parties to provide written arguments in the case, and it was set on January's 9, 2024, as the date for additional consideration.

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