Threatened by unauthorised registration in China?
Read about Domain Name Slamming and how to avoid it

Part One

What is domain name slamming?

If you are involved in the management of trade marks in China, you may fall victim to a “Slamming” attack by a Chinese domain name vendor.

Domain name slamming is an attempt by an unscrupulous vendor to get you to buy domain name registrations that you probably do not want or need by alleging that there is a third party just about to register the names. If you act quickly, you’ll be able to block out this third party.

Of course, there is no third party. This is simply a money-making scam by a greedy Chinese registrar.

Domain Name slamming occurs most typically in the following way:

1. An Account Manager at a Chinese domain name registration vendor targets your company. This person will have researched you and your company over the internet. He may have checked to see if you have a company or trade marks registered in China. He will certainly have checked the business media.

2. This Account Manager emails you or any other person in your company whose name and email address he can discover from company or trade mark filings, news stories or even your own website. Alternatively, he may simply try This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

3. In his e-mail, the Account Manager makes a number of claims:

He introduces his company with the claim that it is in someway associated with the official Chinese domain registry

He claims that his company has been contacted by a new client who wants to register as domain names or key words several terms that exactly match or are confusingly similar to your trade marks. Usually he will claim this mythical third party is interested in registering under .cn or .com.cn. Sometimes he may claim that the registrant is interested in registering under .hk, .tw or even .cc.

He will state that it is a requirement of the Chinese registry to contact you first, giving you 48 hours notice during which time you can secure these names. After this time, he may claim, he must register the domains to this third party.

He is unlikely to mention a price but if he does, it will be hugely inflated, possibly for 10 years or longer.

Of course there is no company trying to register your names, no 48 hour requirement, no association between his company and the official Chinese registry. All the above claims are false. This is simply an unscrupulous attempt by a greedy domain name vendor to pressure you into buying an over-priced domain name.

Here are two examples of “Slamming e-mails sent to our clients. We have removed only the name of the client:

Example One:

Dear CEO,

We are HONGKONG IDCI Information Technology Co.,Ltd, which is the domain name registration organization in China, which mainly deal with international company's in china. We have something important need to confirm with your company.

On the December 10, 2007, we received an application formally. One company named " RuiLian Investment (China) Co., Ltd" applied for the Internet brand keywords "XXXXXX.cn" and the Domain names "yyyyyyy.cn" "zzzzzzzz.com.cn" etc. . which involve internet intellectual property right of your company.

These days we are dealing with it. In order to deal with this issue better, Please contact me by telephone or email as soon as possible.


Best Regards,
kevin
HONGKONG IDCI Information Technology Co.,Ltd
Tel:+86-797-6654451
Fax:+86-797-6654452
Web:http://www.idci.org.cn
kevin @ idci.org.cn

Example Two:

Dear Manager,

We are China Net Technology Limited, which is the domain name register center in China.I have something need to confirm with you.
we have received an application formally,one company named "LEALUI　Holdings Limited" applies for the domain names(xxxxxx.travel yyyyyyyy.io zzzzzzzz.fm etc.) and the internet Brand Name()on the internet Nov 28, 2007. We need to know the opinion of your company, because the domain names and keywords may relate to the usufruct of brand name on internet.
we would like to get the affirmation of your company,please contact us by telephone or email as soon as possible. Please let someone in your company who is responsible for trademark or intellectual right contact me freely.

Best Regards,

Byron Ke
Sponsoring Registrar:
China Net Technology Limited.
Tel: +(852)3075 9838
Fax: +(852)3177 1520
Email: byron.ke @ cnnet.hk

Website: www.cnnet.hk

Three other companies we know that have practised domain name slamming are:
Shanghai Huiming Network Technology Company
Beijing Shiji Jiala Trade Development
Xiamen Wuxiang Network Technology Company (which may also be trading as Xiamen Huitong Tianxia Technology Company and Xiamen Zhongyitong Network Service Company).

Part Two

How to Respond to a Domain Name Slamming Approach

Step One
Know your facts

It helps if you understand the key facts about the jurisdictions where these Chinese slammers operate:

The official Chinese domain name registry is called CNNIC or China Internet Network Information Center. It operates under the authority of the Ministry of Information Industry. Go to: http://cnnic.cn/en/index/index.htm

The main jurisdictions where Slammers try to persuade you to register are set out below with a summary of the formalities and official fees:

In addition, the Slammers may try to get you to buy a Chinese Internet Keyword. Internet Keywords are a navigation device, currently unique to China, which allow an internet user in his or her mother tongue to type in a Key Word, such as Comlaude, and then to be redirected to a site at a domain name that corresponds with the Keyword, such as comlaude.cn (or more likely, comlaude.cn in Chinese characters). There is no need to type in http:// or comlaude.cn in Chinese characters.

Step Two
Reject the Slammer

We have rebuffed over 50 slamming attacks this year for our clients. Our approach is simple. We reply to the slammer by e-mail informing him that:
We are aware of the tactic of slamming. We have seen many attempts to scare Western brand owners into registering domain names. We do not believe that there is a third party
The fact that the slammer has made this approach shows that he understands that intellectual property rights may exist in the terms he has selected
We are monitoring all domain name registrations
We have put enforcement specialists in China (or Hong Kong or Taiwan) on standby
If we find that any of the targeted terms are registered, action may be taken against the registrant and the slammer
We are considering reporting this approach to CNNIC. We know that there is a formal complaint mechanism. We know that with the approach of the Olympic games, the Chinese authorities are clamping down on scams such as slamming.
No further approach should be made by the slammer

Should you have any energy left after dealing with the slammer in this way, you may even wish to report him to CNNIC. Here is a link to a PDF complaint form in English:
http://cnnic.cn/download/2005/2005041501.pdf

Step Three
Block the Slammer

Whilst the approach outlined above will stop the slammer, with so many Chinese domain vendors undertaking slamming, it is wise to consider the value of pre-emptive registration to block your marks, should China and the Far East be of commercial importance to you.

Although Internet Keywords in China can cost as much as $500 for a standard term and even more for a ‘Gold’ term (a generic word), it is possible to obtain five .cn and .com.cn domain registrations for $1,200 including official fees.

If you would like us to assist you in tackling a slamming incident or to file defensive registrations that protect your marks and pre-empt slamming attacks, please contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or call Com Laude on +44 207 836 0070.

Nick Wood
Managing Director
Com Laude
December 2007

© Com Laude December 2007