There will be improvement in the availability of Finnish domain names under the .fi root and the applicants will have greater freedom of choice as the new Act on Domain Names will enter into force on September 1, 2003. The President of the Republic ratified the Act on March 13. Domain names in compliance with the new Act cannot be applied for or reserved prior to its entry into force.
According to the Act, the applicant is basically free to choose the domain name. It is, however, forbidden to register personal names and, for example, domain names that violate somebody else’s trademark rights. Domain names cannot be registered to be stored for redistribution purposes. The one who has registered the domain name is responsible for its lawfulness. The information needed to ensure this is readily available at the public register kept by the authorities in the Internet, for example. The Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority (FICORA) can suspend or revoke unlawfully registered domain names.
Private persons will not yet be granted the right to register Finnish domain names. Foreign corporations cannot either apply for domain names unless they have a branch entered in the Finnish Trade Register.
According to the Act, a domain name is valid for three years at a time and it can be renewed as many times as the holder desires. FICORA will remind the domain name holder about the given deadline prior to its expiration. Domain names granted prior to the new Act will be valid for three years, after which they, too, must be renewed. Other than this, the Act has no effect on the rights of those holders who have prior domain names.
In future, domain name registration and payments will be handled via the Internet. FICORA will introduce a service automation system, which will speed up and rationalise the granting of domain names.
