Registration Of .Pk Domain Name

In Pakistan domain names (.pk domains) are registered by an entity called PKNIC.

PKNIC requires the applicant who wants to register a domain name to agree to the following:

1. The registration of a domain name is a listing service. The listing service of names within the .PK delegated name space is undertaken on a First Come - First Served basis (except in cases where it infringes upon a registered tradename), moderated by the .PK domain's administration policies as determined by the delegated authority. The registration function does not trade in, or license in any way any entity (including the listing requesting entity) to trade in the requested name.

2. If a party claims that a domain name already registered with PKNIC violates their registered tradename, or an obvious derivation of their registered company name, PKNIC reserves the right to transfer the domain to the claiming party provided that they had registered tradename, trademarks or registered company name at least one year before the registration date of the domain name in question registered with PKNIC. In this, and all other matters, decision of a court of law with proper jurisdiction in Pakistan, if so sought, will be final.

3. Although desirable, the domain name under .PK may not be physically present in Pakistan. However there must be at least one Admin contact located in Pakistan. Exception to the requirement for a local Admin contact are those mluti-national companies that have offices in more than three countries and annual revenue in excess of US$ 5 Million per year.

4. Any claim to trade name or copyright under .PK domain name is considered valid ONLY if it is registered with an official trade-name/copyright/patent office in Pakistan.

5. Acceptance of the listing entry by the delegated authority confers no rights to the applicant regarding the legitimacy or otherwise of the association of the name with the applicant, nor does it confer to the applicant any other rights associated with ownership of the name, or any rights to its use.

6. No adjudication is made within the registration function as to whether the applicant has a legitimate right to a name. The applicant in lodging the request for a name informs the delegated authority that they are asserting a claimed right to a name.

7. In the case of conflicting name requests between an applicant and an existing listing held by the delegated authority, it is left to the parties concerned (applicant and listed entity) to resolve such matters, and report to the delegated authority if the resolution includes a change of registration details.

8. Domain names may be removed from the registration function's records upon receipt of written advice indicating that the list entry should be removed from the registry, on condition that the original applicant (or corporate entity) submits the advice to the delegated authority.

9. All registration information will be considered as information within the public domain, and will be accessible using the Internet as the publication vehicle. No provision is made concerning acceptance of information under any imposed condition of confidentiality or non-disclosure.

10. For .PK domains, except for .WEB.PK and .BIZ.PK, the domain name must be an obvious derivation of the official name of the applicant body, OR one of its registered trademarks. (e.g., starTrek.com.pk will not be registered for an applicant with title "Shahid Associates".)

11. Generic names, and names of cities, countries, famous people, etc. will not be registered under any PK domain except .BIZ.PK and .WEB.PK. Generic names and brand names are allowed in BIZ.PK domain.

12. The party requesting registration of this name certifies that, to her/his knowledge, the use of this name does not violate trademark or other statues.

13. Registering a domain name does not confer any legal rights to that name and any disputes between parties over the rights to use a particular name are to be settled between the contending parties using normal legal methods.

14. A recurring maintenance fee of Rs 1,000 (Approx. US$22) per year is charged for each domain name registered with PKNIC. This fee is collected in advance annually or every two years and covers unlimited domain modification requests.

15. The domains under .GOV.PK and domains for Government owned educational institutes are exempt from the maintenance fee charges.

16. The maintenance fee is non-refundable even if the domain name is asked to be deleted by the applicant.

17. PKNIC has neither the resources nor the legal obligation to screen requested Domain Names to determine if the use of a Domain Name by an Applicant may infringe upon the right(s) of a third party. Consequently, as an express condition and material inducement of the grant of an applicant's ("Applicant") request to register a Domain Name, Applicant represents, agrees and warrants as follows:

• Applicant's statements in the application are true and Applicant has the right to use the Domain Name as requested in the Application;
• Applicant has a bona fide intention to use the Domain Name on a regular basis on the Internet;
• The use or registration of the Domain Name by Applicant does not interfere with or infringe the right of any third party in any jurisdiction in Pakistan, with respect to trademark, service mark, tradename, company name or any other intellectual property right;
• Applicant is not seeking to use the Domain Name for any unlawful purpose, including, without limitation, tortious interference with contract or prospective business advantage, unfair competition, injuring the reputation of another, or for the purpose of confusing or misleading a person, whether natural or incorporated.

Following is a copy of the application form for registration of the .pk domain name is as under:

1a. Complete Domain Name............:

1b. (N)ew (M)odify (D)elete.........:

1c. Authorization Code..............:

Authorization Code is required only for Modify or Delete Operations

1d. Web-Authorization Code..........:

Leave blank if you do not have a Web-Authorization Code Organization

3a. Organization Name (Registrant)..:

3b. Brief Description ..............:

3c. Registered Tradename/Trademark..:

3d. Street Address..................:

3e. City............................:

3f. Country (must be Pakistan)......:

3g. Domain Contact in Organization..:

3h. PKNIC Handle for 3g (if known)..:

3i. Title/Position of Domain Contact:

3j. Phone Number....................:

3k. Email Address...................:

3l. Type of Organization............:

The technical contact is the person responsible for the technical aspects of the domain name operations. He/She does not have to be an employee/officer of the Registrant Organization.

4a. PKNIC Handle (if known).........:

4b. Name............................:

4c. Organization Name...............:

4d. Street Address..................:

4e. City............................:

4f. Country ........................:

4g. Phone Number....................:

4h. Email Address...................:

5a. Primary Server Hostname.........:

5b. Primary Server Netaddress (IP)..:

5c. Secondary Server Hostname.......:

5d. Secondary Server Netaddress (IP):

Additional Name-servers (optional, not required)

6a. 2nd Secondary Hostname..........:

6b. 2nd Secondary Netaddress (IP)...:

6c. 3rd Secondary Hostname..........:

6d. 3rd Secondary Netaddress (IP)...:

It takes 1 to 2 weeks to have the domain name registered.

Local presence is not necessary for registration of .pk domain names.

Similarly local hosting is also not necessary. As long as the .pk domain

points to any existing domain with at least two nameserves, it could be

registered.

The content of this article is intended to provide general information on the subject matter. It is therefore not a substitute for specialist advice.