Opening of French domains (.FR)
The registration of French domains becomes easier than before, when they were only reserved for a small circle of individuals.
- Dominiando
- in-depth study
Up to now, the .fr domain name was based on three fundamental principles:
1. territoriality, which implies a legal link with France, the possession of a protected mark in France, French citizenship or residence.
2. identification, which contributes to the construction of a public database that guarantees to third parties that the owners of .fr domains are identified when they apply for registration.
3. the right to the name, which is based on the existence of the rights of the applicant for the domain name. Thus a company could not deposit a domain name that did not appear in its Kbis (equivalent of the chamber of commerce extract).
The evolution from 11 May 2004 will lead to the abandonment of the principle of the right to the name, so that it will no longer be necessary for the applicants to justify their rights on the names they wish to request.
The two principles of territoriality and identification remain valid. Therefore, a link with France will always be needed and identification can take place with a public database (Greffes, INPI, INSEE).
Greffes of the Commercial Courts (Registrars of the Commercial Courts): consult for the registration in the Trade and Companies Register (RCS) and issue an extract (extract K and Kbis) which indicates the updated situation of the legal structure of the company.
INPI (National Institute of Industrial Property): www.inpi.fr
INSEE (National Institute of Statistics and Economic www.insee.fr
OHMI (OHIM - Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market): http://ohmi.eu.int/
WIPO (WIPO - World Intellectual Property Organization): www.wipo.int
Analysis of Registration Rules:
Who can register a .fr domain?
Legal entities having their headquarters located in France
or that they have an address in France resulting in the Greffes or INPI archives;
or the holders of a trademark filed with INPI or holders of a Community or international trademark registered specifically for the French territory.
Natural persons of French nationality
or of foreign nationality with habitual residence in France;
or holders of a trademark filed with INPI or holders of a Community or international trademark registered specifically for the French territory.
The administrative contact
The applicant for a domain name must imperatively designate an administrative contact. This contact, at the choice of the domain owner, can be a natural person or a legal person, even a third person to the owner, usually his own provider.
The administrative contact must have an address in France. This address must be from the public archives of the Chancelleries (Greffes) or the INSEE. The administrative contact data becomes public on the WHOIS. The holder can request the change of the administrative contact at any time.
The procedure:
Within 30 days from the date of request, the authority will check the accuracy of the data provided (comparing them with those present in the public archives - Greffes, INPI, INSEE). If the search proves to be unsuccessful, the authority will contact the provider who must, within 30 days, produce the required documentation.
If also in this case the domain does not succeed, it will return available to the public for registration.
For domain names created on the basis of a registration application valid for INPI, it is specified that:
a) if the request was rejected by the INPI and the status of "registered trademark" was not obtained, the domain name is deleted for a new registration;
b) if the trademark is not published on BOPI (Official Gazette of the Industrial Property: published once a week) within 6 weeks of being registered to the INPI and does not obtain the status of "published trademark", the domain name is blocked for 30 days within which the situation must be resolved, otherwise it will be canceled and go free for a new registration;
c) if the trademark is not registered within 6 months by the INPI and does not obtain the status of "registered trademark" the domain name is blocked for 30 days within which the situation must be resolved otherwise it will be deleted and open up to be available to the public for registration.
Specific rules for .com.fr
It is granted only if the same domain name is not already registered directly under the .fr.
Whoever registers a .com.fr can later request the registration of .fr.
