Eurid, the entity charged with managing the .eu namespace, is reported to have taken action against an alleged cybersquatter based in China, Zheng Qingying.
John over on WhoisIreland picked up the story from DomainsInfo. He’s also provided a list with some of the domains affected.
The last suspension “en masse” was directed against Ovidio when over 74 thousand domains were suspended.
This time round the number is much lower – a paltry ten thousand!
In this instance there seems to have been a pattern of cybersquatting, with over a dozen ADR proceedings against the registrant in question.
The criteria for registering .eu domains may seem to be quite simple – an address in the EU – however this criterion has been “gamed” more than once in the past. The difference in this instance is that the registry seems willing to take action.
Eurid officials are quoted as saying that the UK phone numbers are proof of nothing:
It’s common knowledge that anyone from anywhere in the world can get an English phone number
It will be interesting to see how the courts react when the judgement is handed down next month.
Will this set a reasonable precedent for other TLDs within the EU?
Maybe, maybe not.
