Addressing Infringement: Developments in Content Regulation in the US and the DNS

The reach of privately ordered online content regulation is wide and deepening. It is deepening with reference to the internet’s protocol stack, migrating downward from the application layer into the network’s technical infrastructure, specifically, the Domain Name System (DNS). This chapter explores the recent expansion of intellectual property enforcement in the DNS, with a focus on associated due process and expressive harms. It begins with a technical explanation of the operation and governance of the DNS. It goes on to discuss existing and proposed alternative dispute resolution (ADR) regimes for resolving intellectual property complaints involving domain names. In doing so, it compares the long-running Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) for adjudicating trademark cybersquatting claims to newer ADR programmes targeting copyright infringement on websites underlying domain names.