The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is an apex authority responsible for the administration of domain names, IP address numbers and protocol parameters. The domain name is much like an entry in a phone book. Computers communicate by using numbers called IP addresses to contact each other, much like we use a phone number to dial a specific person’s phone. There are numerous domain name disputes that have come up for consideration of courts all over the world. To name a few, Intermatic vs. Toeppen, Actmedia Inc. vs. Active Media Int’l, Inc., Panavision vs. Toeppen in the USA, British Telecommunications Plc. vs. One in a Million Ltd., Marks & Spencer’s vs. One-in-a-Million in the UK; and Yahoo.com vs. Akash Arora, Rediff Communication vs. Cyberbooth & Anr, Tata Sons Ltd. vs. Monu Kasuri & Others, Satyam Infoway Ltd. vs. Sifynet Solutions Pvt. Ltd., in India are of importance. It was held that Internet domain names are subject to the same legal norms applicable to other intellectual properties such as trademarks.

Internet is a web that envelops thousands of interconnected networks linking approximately millions of computers worldwide. These networks belong to several domains, including universities, military organizations, government institutions, nonprofit groups, companies and small businesses and individuals.

Internet is termed ‘meta’ network—a network of networks that spans the globe. It is impossible to give an exact count of the number of networks or users that comprise the Internet, but it is easily in thousands and millions respectively. It employs a set of standardized protocols which allow the sharing of resources among different kinds of computers that communicate with each other on the network. These standards, sometimes referred to as the Internet Protocol Suite, are the rules that developers adhere to while creating new functions for the Internet. Internet is also called a distributed system where there are no central archives. Technically, no one runs the Internet. Rather, the Internet is made up of thousands of smaller networks. It thrives and develops as its many users find new ways to create, display and retrieve the information that constitutes the Internet. 

Law Review Journal, Role of ICANN, Internet, Domain Name, Dispute, Resolution.