Website names in Vietnamese (with diacritic marks) having a country domain that ends in “.vn” have been registered for free since Thursday morning, the internet domain registry Vietnam National Internet Center, said.
Tran Minh Tan, deputy head of the VNNIC Photo: Tuoitre
Normally registries like VNNIC charge users an annual fee for a domain.
The center’s decision has raised concern about possible disputes with upstarts trying to usurp established names.
Tran Minh Tan, deputy head of the center, speaks to Tuoi Tre about its decision.
Internet users are familiar with domain names in Roman alphabets (without diacritics) and typing Vietnamese words with marks in address bars will be difficult for users, especially foreigners. Will these free domain names become popular?
The user groups we are targeting are domain holders who want their website names in clear Vietnamese (with tones) instead of using just Roman alphabets that could cause ambiguity.
It will create a chance for them to protect their pure Vietnamese brands on the Internet such as báotuôỉtrẻ.vn instead of one saying baotuoitre.vn.
Typing Vietnamese words in the address bar with diacritic marks is a bit difficult but manageable.
Vietnamese domain names are not for foreigners.
Domain holders who are trading with foreign partners already have their website the usual way. Therefore this is an option for them to clearly display their names in Vietnamese on the Internet.
How many .vn domain names with diacritic marks have been registered?
More than 5,000 have been registered until Wednesday, though only 3,600 are active, because we only recently began to offer this.
There are 130,000 domains in Roman alphabets (without tones).
The new service is just an addition to the system of country code top-level domain .vn, which also includes generic top-level domains for organizations like edu.vn or gov.vn.
Won’t giving out free domains like this cause legal issues when the Vietnamese version of an established business’s domain is exploited by others?
This may not happen because we gave entities like businesses, corporations, and organizations two months from January 10 to March 10 to register first.
Now that the period is over, they have to follow the ‘first come, first served’ rule and take their disputes, if any, to court.
Domain disputes will surely occur …
They will for sure. We can only advise holders to register soon to protect their brands on the Internet.
When a company’s domain is registered by another individual to make a profit from it, what can they do?
They have to file a lawsuit first. The process is then followed by mediation, commercial arbitration, and finally a court verdict.
The VNNIC has no jurisdiction over these disputes; we will abide by the final judgment to withdraw or maintain the disputed domain.
How long will registration and maintenance of these new domains last?
The current rule is everybody can register and maintain them for free. When there are new developments, we will make announcements.