Regulation (EC) No 733/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 April 2002 on the implementation of the .eu Top Level Domain (Text with EEA relevance)Text with EEA relevance

The objective of this Regulation is to implement the .eu country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) within the Community. The Regulation sets out the conditions for such implementation, including the designation of a Registry, and establishes the general policy framework within which the Registry will function.

This Regulation shall apply without prejudice to arrangements in Member States regarding national ccTLDs.

The Commission shall:

1. adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 5a in order to supplement this Regulation by establishing the criteria and the procedure for the designation of the Registry.

   Where, in the case of establishing the criteria and the procedure for the designation of the Registry, imperative grounds of urgency so require, the procedure provided for in Article 5b shall apply to delegated acts adopted pursuant to this Article;

2. designate, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 6(2), the Registry after publishing a call for expressions of interest in the Official Journal of the European Communities and after the procedure for such call has been completed;

3. enter into, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 6(2), a contract which shall specify the conditions according to which the Commission supervises the organisation, administration and management of the .eu TLD by the Registry. The contract between the Commission and the Registry shall be limited in time and renewable.

The Registry may not accept registrations until the registration policy is in place.

The Registry shall be a non-profit organisation, formed in accordance with the law of a Member State and having its registered office, central administration and principal place of business within the Community.

Having obtained the prior consent of the Commission, the Registry shall enter into the appropriate contract providing for the delegation of the .eu ccTLD code. To this effect the relevant principles adopted by the Governmental Advisory Committee shall be taken into account.

The .eu TLD Registry shall not act itself as Registrar.

The Registry shall observe the rules, policies and procedures laid down in this Regulation and the contracts referred to in Article 3. The Registry shall observe transparent and non-discriminatory procedures.

The Registry shall:

1. organise, administer and manage the .eu TLD in the general interest and on the basis of principles of quality, efficiency, reliability and accessibility;

2. register domain names in the .eu TLD through any accredited .eu Registrar requested by any:

   1. undertaking having its registered office, central administration or principal place of business within the Community, or

   2. organisation established within the Community without prejudice to the application of national law, or

   3. natural person resident within the Community;

3. impose fees directly related to costs incurred;

4. implement the extra-judicial settlement of conflicts policy based on recovery of costs and a procedure to resolve promptly disputes between domain name holders regarding rights relating to names including intellectual property rights as well as disputes in relation to individual decisions by the Registry. This policy shall be adopted in accordance with Article 5(1) and take into consideration the recommendations of the World Intellectual Property Organisation. The policy shall provide adequate procedural guaranties for the parties concerned, and shall apply without prejudice to any court proceeding;

5. adopt procedures for, and carry out, accreditation of .eu Registrars and ensure effective and fair conditions of competition among .eu Registrars;

6. ensure the integrity of the databases of domain names.

After consulting the Registry, the Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 5a in order to supplement this Regulation by setting out public policy rules on the implementation and function of the .eu TLD and public policy principles on registration.

Public policy shall include:

1. an extra-judicial settlement of conflicts policy;

2. public policy on speculative and abusive registration of domain names, including the possibility of registration of domain names in a phased manner to ensure appropriate temporary opportunities for the holders of prior rights recognised or established by national and/or Community law and public bodies to register their names;

3. policy on possible revocation of domain names, including the question of bona vacantia;

4. issues of language and geographical concepts;

5. treatment of intellectual property and other rights.

Within three months of the entry into force of this Regulation, Member States may notify to the Commission and to the other Member States a limited list of broadly-recognised names with regard to geographical and/or geopolitical concepts which affect their political or territorial organisation that may either:

1. not be registered, or

2. be registered only under a second level domain according to the public policy rules.

The Commission shall notify to the Registry without delay the list of notified names to which such criteria apply. The Commission shall publish the list at the same time as it notifies the Registry.

Where a Member State or the Commission within 30 days of publication raises an objection to an item included in a notified list, the Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 5a in order to remedy the situation by supplementing this Regulation.

Before starting registration operations, the Registry shall adopt the initial registration policy for the .eu TLD in consultation with the Commission and other interested parties. The Registry shall implement in the registration policy the public policy rules adopted pursuant to paragraph 1 taking into account the exception lists referred to in paragraph 2.

The Commission shall periodically inform the Committee referred to in Article 6 on the activities referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article.